Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 4: Air
by Star Tours Traveler
Summary: Aang learns that he is not the last Airbender and embarks to reunite the gang and find his people before war breaks out once again. Multiple parings.
1. Prologue Part 1

**Summary: **Aang learns that he is not the last Airbender and embarks to reunite the gang and find his people before war breaks out once again. Multiple parings.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar. The people at Nickelodeon do.

**A/N: **This fic takes place about 1 month after the finale. The Main pairings are Aang/Katara, Sokka/Suki, and Zuko/Mai. There is a friendship/family paring for Toph/Iroh. There will be several other yet lesser pairings.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank a buddy of mine (You know who you are) for turning me onto Avatar and inspiring me to write this fic.

* * *

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four great nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang, was found, by a young girl named Katara and her older brother named Sokka. Although Aang's Airbending skills were great, he had a lot to learn before he was ready to save anyone. But Katara believed, probably more than anyone, that Aang could save the world.

Aang did not disappoint her, and he indeed saved the world from the evil Fire Lord Ozai, allowing the once banished Prince Zuko to take power and end the war that had waged for one hundred years.

A month has passed since the great battles in the Fire Nation capitol and in the skies over the great Earth Kingdom capitol of Ba Sing Se that saw the end of the Great War.

Prince Zuko, now Fire Lord Zuko, has begun the long and difficult process of turning a primarily war based nation into a more economy based nation with his long time girlfriend, Mai, at his side. But within him lies a question that burns at his very soul like the fire he once taught Aang to control. The question of where his mother had gone so many years ago.

Aang's friend and Earthbending teacher, the blind yet tomboyish Toph Bei Fong, refusing to return to her parents home, has opted to stay in Ba Sing Se with her friend, and Zuko's uncle, the wise and friendly retired General Iroh who runs a highly respectable Tea shop (and Pai Sho parlor) in Ba Sing Se known as the Jasmine Dragon.

Sokka, being considered of age by Water Tribe tradition after his efforts during the war, moved in with his girlfriend Suki on Kyoshi Island and have settled into a domestic lifestyle. Yet he still maintains contact with his father and grandparents in the Southern Water Tribe. Ty Lee was also on Kyoshi Island but as one of the warrior maidens, and she had quickly become friends with Suki and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors, teaching them how to block the Chi of their opponents.

Katara, finally confessed her feelings for Aang following the war's end, and the two have been nigh inseparable since. But after two weeks and five days of traveling with the Avatar around the globe she began feeling homesick and Aang returned with her to the South Pole where her people lived.

This is where our story begins…in the South Pole.

* * *

**  
In the Southern Water Tribe village…**

The once ramshackle village had been built into a fortress like its sister village in the North Pole, albeit a noticeably smaller one by comparison. Though the need for such fortified defenses was unnecessary since the end of the war, the old adage "you can never be too careful" was well acknowledged.

In the center of the village, Katara was teaching a small group of young Waterbenders how to use their powers, but not without aid from her new step-grandfather and Master Waterbender Pakku. Katara's father and Village Chieftain, Hakoda, spoke with some of his fellow warriors as they reminisced about old times. In a nearby and well warmed stable, sat the hulking Sky Bison, Appa, as he slept soundly and with the small flying lemur, Momo, resting on his back.

But within a relatively large igloo like hut, made of ice formed from Waterbending and with an Air Nomad arrow pointing down towards the entrance, sat the bald headed Avatar himself as he meditated peacefully in the ice cold air. Life living in one of the two coldest places on earth had taught him to wear heavier and thicker clothing. He wore a light blue polar jacket with white fur lining with matching gloves, pants, and boots. His usual orange and yellow Air Nomad robes could be seen underneath the open jacket. Of course the only reason he wore the Water Tribe garb was because Katara had made it especially for him by hand. Normally his bald head would be freezing but his mastery of all four elements had granted him relative immunity to the weather.

As he sat meditating he heard a strange whistling noise blowing past his ears. He recognized this noise easily. It was the sound of a wind instrument that was native to his people, the Air Nomads. His late mentor, Monk Gyatso was exceptionally talented with the instrument as he recalled.

He opened his eyes for a brief moment and the mysterious whistling stopped. He looked around curiously but only saw his glider staff sitting next to him. He shrugged and returned to his meditating. After a moment he suddenly started hearing the whistle again but this time it was in the melody of a song he remembered Gyatso playing somewhat frequently. He opened his eyes this time and the whistling continued. He stood up and headed towards the door flap to his hut. As he reached for the flap a blinding flash of light knocked him backwards and onto the floor behind him.

He opened his eyes to see the hut being dismantled piece by piece as it was mysteriously sucked into a swirling magic filled sky. He stood up just as the only thing remaining was the snowy floor which he stood upon within an endless abyss of magic. He then heard the music coming from behind him, causing him to turn and see what appeared to be the Southern Air Temple moving towards him from within the abyss. The temple continued to move closer, and closer, solid surfaces passing through Aang as if either he or they were made of air.

Finally the temple stopped outside the door to his old room. He arched a very confused eyebrow before the door suddenly flew open and he saw a hooded figure in red Fire Nation robes hunched over his empty bed as if praying. The figure then turned and for a brief moment Aang could see the figure's face. It was a noticeably older woman with raven black hair but on her left eye was a scar matching Zuko's. Suddenly she turned to ice and shattered in a massive burst of light.

Aang's eyes shot open and he found himself standing within his now ruined hut as the surrounding villagers stood dumbfounded at the sight.

"Aang! What happened?! Are you alright?!" Katara asked as she ran up to him. But just as she reached him, his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out but Katara caught him in her arms before he could fall.

"Aang? Aang!?" Katara asked worriedly and tearfully before shouting into the cold polar air.

"**AANG!!!"  
**

* * *

**  
Earlier on Kyoshi Island…**

The Kyoshi warrior maidens stood in uniform lines as they practiced their fighting methods in perfect unison. The former Fire Nation circus performer/chi blocking master, Ty Lee, practiced along with them as the leader of the warrior maidens, Suki, led the practice.

They finally finished with a powerful thrust with the metal fans closed that would most likely decapitate a man if they were within striking range. They weren't however expecting there to be the sound of someone clapping from the doorway.

They all turned to see Sokka leaning against the doorframe in a stylish pose and casually clapping. He had started wearing more Earth Kingdom oriented clothing but he still carried a few mementoes from his Water Tribe origins, such as his Water Tribe club and machete and the empty sheath for his boomerang (which still hadn't come back), along with his blue fingerless gloves and white bandages wrapped around his arms.

"I don't know what looks cooler, a room full of beautiful women or a room full of beautiful women warriors." Sokka said with a sly grin, eliciting giggles from some of the women.

"Ooh the big strong man returns to tempt fate." One of the warrior women said as she popped open her fans and entered a battle stance.

"Yeah let's Chi block 'em!" one of the other warrior women said as she too popped her fans. Sokka was, needless to say, paper white at the moment.

"Oh-look-at-the-time-I-gotta-run!" Sokka whimpered as he moved a foot out the door. But before he could he found his path blocked by Ty Lee who personally turned him back around to face towards the inside of the hut.

"Not so fast Sokka. You know the agreement we made when you moved here. You interrupt a training session; you have to fight for forgiveness." Suki said challengingly as she held up a practice sword and then tossed it to Sokka who smirked knowingly. The other warriors looked at each other knowingly with smirks of their own. Sokka, Suki, and Ty Lee were probably the best fighters on all of Kyoshi Island and the other warriors knew it full well. To them it wasn't just Suki and Sokka fighting, it was watching two masters giving them something to study and practice.

Sokka and Suki bowed to each other respectfully as the other women stood or sat scattered around with eager anticipation.

"Ooh Suki vs. Sokka." Ty Lee said excitedly.

"Who are you betting on Lee?" one of the warriors whispered into Lee's ear.

"The cute one of course." Ty Lee replied dreamily as she looked at Sokka.

Suddenly the battle commenced and the two were engulfed in an epic battle between Jian sword and dual metal fans. As they dueled their motions became less like fighting but more like an intricate dance between the two. Dodging or parrying each blow with graceful skill before finally freezing in an unbelievable position. Sokka had the sword's blade held up close to Suki's throat but Suki had one of her metal fans closed and with a sharp end pointed directly at the base of Sokka's skull from behind his head.

"Draw?" Sokka asked with a smile as Suki smirked and nodded.

The warrior women applauded as the two duelists backed up and bowed to each other respectfully.

"You've been practicing Sokka. Master Piandao really taught you how to fight." Suki said as Sokka nodded and sighed. The other warrior Maidens were leaving for their homes…well except for Ty Lee.

"I still miss my space sword and boomerang." Sokka said as he clutched the empty sheath that once held his "space sword" close to his chest.

"You made that sword with your own two hands. It's unlike any other sword on this earth." Suki said as she and Sokka walked hand in hand out of the training hut and down towards their adjoining huts in town with Ty Lee following close behind and walking on her hands.

Sokka & Suki's huts were arranged in kind of an L shape, with Suki in the hut on the right and Sokka on the left. Suki had designed the huts in honor of Sokka's lost boomerang but Sokka never caught on. There was an open area in the joint between the huts where Sokka and Suki would sit and watch the sunset on some days.

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe one day I'll find it or make another sword of meteor rock…only problem is that I would have to fight Toph for the last chunk of meteor rock." Sokka said dejectedly.

"This is a point, and I think only Aang or that creepy old king from Omashu could even hope to defeat Toph at Earthbending." Suki replied in agreement as she wiped away the warrior paint from her face.

"That girl is pretty good with Earthbending." Ty Lee said as she effortlessly stood on both her hands and feet but with her front facing the sky.

"Uh Ty Lee…is there a reason you're following us?" Suki asked curiously as Ty Lee instantly leapt onto her feet and looked like she was about to say something but stopped then shrugged with an innocent smile on her face.

"Not really." Ty Lee replied as she cart wheeled down the hill past them and into the village.

"Now where were we?" Suki asked as he looked at Sokka and batted her eyelashes causing Sokka to practically melt. They leaned in for a kiss but before they could, they saw a bright light coming from the center of town. They turned towards the town and gazed in disbelief as they saw the eyes on the tall wooden statue of Avatar Kyoshi glowing a bright white before fading.

"What was that?" Suki asked worriedly as Sokka gazed at the statue with an expression of horror.

"Aang." Was all he said.

* * *

**  
In Ba Sing Se…**

It was late in the evening for Ba Sing Se and it was a little past closing time for the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh and Toph were in the middle of what had become an afterhour's tradition for them…playing a game of Pai Sho over the last brewed pot of tea.

"A very excellent maneuver Toph. Your Pai Sho skills are improving. Perhaps one day you may even master use of the white lotus tile." Iroh complimented before taking a sip of his tea. Iroh had abandoned his Earth Kingdom alias since he technically exposed himself as the former General Iroh during the battle to retake Ba Sing Se. But that same battle removed all doubt and fear of him, as both his tea and wisdom had become well known in the brief amount of time he and Zuko had stayed in the city.

"Thanks. I pay attention to the other Pai Sho players whenever I can and I pick up a few things." Toph said before taking a sip of her tea as well. Until a month ago, she had only heard of Pai Sho in passing. Toph had been staying with Iroh in Zuko's old room since she had no real desire to go back to her parents (her father having tried to have her dragged back home didn't help things), and she needed a reason to stay in Ba Sing Se so she had taken over Zuko's old job as a waiter at the Jasmine Dragon. She was very good at it too, using her Earthbending powers to keep the clay and metal tea cups and teapots steady on the trays.

"And with this move I believe the pot is mine." Iroh said as he completed a move. But as he reached for the pot, a sharp stone spike shot from the ground very near his hand.

"Not really. I actually have one more move I can make." Toph said as she moved one of her pieces on top of the piece Iroh had just moved.

"Now I believe the pot is mine?" Toph asked with a smirk across her face as Iroh sat dumbfounded for a brief moment before he started laughing in delight.

"Ah Toph you never cease to amaze. And just in time too, we're out of tea. I guess it's time to go home." Iroh said as he stood up to put the teapot and the cups away as Toph put away the Pai Sho tiles in a neat and organized fashion for the players that would come in tomorrow. But something else caught her attention.

She could sense someone approaching the Jasmine Dragon from outside through her Earthbending. She couldn't quite make out who it was but she could tell the person was familiar. Suddenly her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. She quickly leapt up and ran past Iroh into a back room. She then proceeded to Earthbend a large stone slab in place of the door.

Iroh looked at the slab curiously for a moment before hearing the doors to the shop open and close.

"I'm sorry friend, but I'm afraid the shop is closed right now. If you would like to come back tomorrow morning, we would be proud to serve you." Iroh said with a smile over his shoulder.

"Actually I'm not here for tea." The man who had just entered said.

"Oh and what exactly are you here for?" Iroh asked as he turned to look at the man. The man wore elegant Earth Kingdom clothes, very similar to those of the nobles that Iroh would see now and again as they came into his shop.

"I'm here seeking a friend." The man said as he held up a white lotus tile. Iroh smiled and motioned towards a nearby Pai Sho table.

"It is rare to find one who favors the ancient ways of using the white lotus gambit." Iroh said as he and the man took their places at the Pai Sho table.

"Those who do can always find a friend." The man replied, placing the white lotus tile in the center of the table.

"Then let us play." Iroh said as he and the man quickly started arranging the tiles into the shape of a Lotus flower.

"Welcome brother, the white lotus opens wide to those who know its secrets." Iroh said as the man gave a humble bow.

"Thank you Grand Lotus Iroh. I come seeking the aid of the order. I'm trying to find someone very dear to me." The man explained as Iroh scratched his chin in thought.

"Who might this person be?" Iroh asked as the man produced a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Iroh.

"A good friend of mine was trapped in the Fire Nation during the war and he found this on a wanted poster sometime before the day of Black Sun. It looks very much like the person I'm trying to find." The man said as Iroh glanced at the still crumpled piece of paper. He sniffed it, smelling the faint hint of sulfur and ash that was typical of anything Fire Nation. He unraveled the paper and his eyes widened at the sight of the image drawn on the paper.

"I see. How did you end up coming to me for help?" Iroh asked curiously as he glanced back towards the large stone slab for a moment.

"I asked a member of the order, a Blossomed Lotus named Jeong Jeong, and he said that you were probably the person to ask about finding this person." The man explained as Iroh pondered silently.

"May I hold onto this? I feel like I've seen this person before here in town, and I need to make sure my aging eyes aren't playing tricks on me." Iroh said as the man bowed humbly.

"By all means. I have other copies of the wanted poster with me." The man said as he stood up.

"Then I can assume that for now our business is concluded. Come by the shop later tomorrow and I will have my answer for you." Iroh said as both he and the man bowed and the man left.

"Thank you again Grand Lotus." The man said as he left. As he watched the man leave, Iroh stood tapping his foot impatiently until finally the large stone slab slid back into the ground, revealing a noticeably annoyed Toph.

"Geez I'd thought that would never end." Toph grumbled.

"You do realize that you could have just bended a back door and headed on home like you usually do right?" Iroh asked as Toph blinked.

"True but-." Toph was about to say but she was interrupted by a strange commotion coming from the streets.

"What is that?" Iroh asked curiously as he ran for the window facing the palace. He looked out to see a large stone statue that represented one of the former Earth Kingdom Avatars before Kyoshi. What shocked him was that the statue's eyes were glowing with bright white light.

"Uh little help here? What's going on out there? I can't feel a thing!" Toph asked as Iroh continued looking out the window.

"The statue of one of the Avatars is glowing! That only happens when the Avatar is in the Avatar state!" Iroh exclaimed as Toph's blank eyes widened.

"Oh great! What have you done now Twinkle toes?!" Toph groaned as Iroh continued gazing at the sight.

* * *

**  
In the Fire Nation Capitol City…**

It was morning in the Fire Nation and Fire Lord Zuko had just sat down for breakfast in the palace. He was already being swarmed by aides with important decrees and documents that needed his signature. Finally his last nerve gave out and fire shot from his nostrils.

"That's IT!!!" Zuko shouted angrily as he jumped up from his chair, "From this point forward! The Fire Lord will not be tasked with his duties while he is eating his meals!"

Almost instantly all the aides vanished, leaving Zuko alone to eat his breakfast in peace. He was quietly eating some fire fruit when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Ugh for the last time! GO AWAY!!!" Zuko bellowed angrily.

"Well good morning to you too sunshine." A young but gravely female voice said sarcastically. Zuko paled instantly and turned to see Mai standing behind him with a cheeky smirk and her arms crossed.

"Sorry Mai. I just get so tired of having my breakfast, lunch, and dinner disturbed by the aides shoving papers in my face every day." Zuko said as Mai sat down next to him at the dinner table.

"You've been really stressed ever since you came back from visiting your father in prison, and you still haven't told me why?" Mai asked as she grasped his hand gently and gave him a concerned look.

"It's personal Mai. I don't want to trouble you with it." Zuko said, turning away from her slightly, but she used her free hand to turn his face back towards her.

"In case you've forgotten, what with your duties as Fire Lord, I still love you and I want to be there for you." Mai said as Zuko gave her a hurt look.

"No don't ever think that I've forgotten you Mai. I still love you too, it's just that I've got a lot on my mind lately and my duties are not making things any easier for me." Zuko explained as Mai nodded understandingly.

"Then what's the problem Zuko? Tell me now." Mai said as she put her arms around him. Zuko finally sighed.

"When I went to see my father in prison…I went to ask him what happened to…my mother." Zuko said as Mai's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Your mother?" she asked as Zuko nodded.

"Yes. I want to find her, but I can't while I'm trying to turn around the entire nation from a war to peace." Zuko explained with a sigh.

"Perhaps she'll turn up eventually. Maybe if you revoked the order that banished her then perhaps she'll show up." Mai suggested as Zuko sighed again.

"But I already did. That was my second act as Fire Lord after declaring the war over." Zuko said as Mai scooted her chair right up next to his and leaned against him.

"Have faith Zuko. She'll turn up eventually." Mai said as Zuko looked up at a statue of Avatar Roku that stood against the dining hall wall.

"Maybe…if I could go from hunting the Avatar to teaching him Firebending, then anything's possible." Zuko said as Mai gave a soft smile.

"That's the spirit Zuko." Mai said as Zuko gave her a curious smirk.

"What happened to the mopey Mai I know?" Zuko asked as Mai smirked.

"Well if you don't give this Mai a kiss then you'll find out." Mai said as Zuko caught the hint and leaned in for a kiss. Suddenly the ground shook beneath them and a blinding burst of light filled the room. Zuko and Mai looked around and saw the statue of Roku. Its eyes were glowing with great white light.

"Something's wrong. That only happens when the Avatar is in the Avatar state!" Zuko said as he and Mai watched the statue in horror.

Whatever had happened to Aang was being felt all across the globe.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 1.**

**Please R&R…**


	2. Prologue Part 2

**Back in the South Pole…**

All of the villagers of the Southern Water Tribe, had just seen a sight that made them quake in fear. To them, they felt a powerful gust of wind blowing towards and into the entrance of Aang's hut. Shortly afterwards, the entire hut exploded and the pieces fell back to the ground as snow, revealing Aang standing in the center of the demolished hut in the Avatar state for a few seconds before the glow in his tattoos and eyes disappeared and Katara caught him.

Aang had been moved into Hakoda's hut where Katara was sitting worriedly next to the cot holding the hand of his still unconscious form. Hakoda, Pakku, and Kanna were sitting around a nearby table, watching carefully.

"I wonder what could have triggered that. I thought the Avatar state was a defense mechanism." Kanna (Gran-Gran) said as Pakku nodded.

"It is, but it's also something he can control himself. However I have heard that it can be triggered when under great stress." Pakku explained.

"Something must have happened for it to have suddenly activated. Perhaps something happened that knocked things back out of balance in the world." Hakoda pondered.

"Well if you consider that Aang is the last of the Airbenders, then I'd say things are very much out of balance. Between the Water Tribes, Fire Nation, and Earth Kingdom, things are balanced, but between all four nations…they are not." Kanna said as Hakoda and Pakku nodded.

"The Air Nomad's can't all be gone can they? Just because their temples are deserted, doesn't mean that they're all gone does it?" Pakku asked.

"I don't know. They are technically nomads after all and there may be several places they could have gone to hide." Hakoda said as Katara spoke up.

"We went to all four of the Air Nomad temples and every one of them was empty except for the Northern Air Temple, but that was inhabited by several Earth Kingdom refugees. If there were places for the Air Nomads to hide, then Aang would have gone to them." Katara said as Pakku scratched his chin.

"Or he doesn't know about them…he could also have forgotten where these hiding places are." Pakku said. But before any of them could say anything else, they heard Aang moan from his cot.

"Katara?" he whispered weakly. Katara quickly grasped his hand.

"I'm here Aang." Katara said softly.

"What happened?" Aang asked in a whisper.

"You entered the Avatar state and destroyed your hut. Then you fell unconscious." Katara explained as Aang's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh yeah that's right!" he exclaimed as he sat straight up, "I had a vision!"

"A vision? A vision of what?" Hakoda asked.

"Well I remember standing in this strange magical place and suddenly see the Southern Air Temple flying towards me. I then suddenly start passing through its walls like air and then I reach my old room. The door opens and I see a woman wearing Fire Nation robes and with a scar on her face exactly like Zuko's standing there. That's when I woke up." Aang explained.

"What do you think it means?" Katara asked curiously as Aang hopped up onto his feet.

"It means I'm going to the Southern Air Temple. I think that's what the vision was telling me to do." Aang said as he Airbended his staff to his hand.

"Then I'm going with you." Katara said as Aang shook his head.

"No Katara, there's no reason for you to come along. It's just a simple flight to the Southern Air Temple and back. It won't take more than a day if I take Appa." Aang said as he headed for the door flap, but was blocked by Katara.

"Come on Aang, it may be a trap or something. You might need help. Besides this way if it turns out to be the start of some major adventure then we can go straight on from there." Katara said as Hakoda nodded in agreement.

"Katara is right Aang. You may have mastery of all four elements, but no one is invincible. Katara can heal whatever wounds you have with her Waterbending. Besides, no one person should ever travel alone…even if you are the Avatar." Hakoda said as Katara put her hands on Aang's shoulders.

"Come on Aang, let's go together. Please?" Katara asked, giving him a sweet smile, causing Aang to blush and his heart to melt.

"Okay." He said dreamily as Katara pumped her arm excitedly.

"YES!" she cheered before kissing Aang on the cheek then quickly running off to begin packing. Aang was a bright shade of red with a goofy smile on his face.

"Aang, you and I are going to have a long talk about this later on." Hakoda said with a knowing smirk as Aang sweat dropped with an innocent grin.

* * *

**  
Meanwhile in Ba Sing Se…**

Iroh and Toph were walking back to the apartment they shared and Iroh was being unusually quiet.

"You've got something on your mind. I can tell." Toph said.

"Your Earthbending skills must be very powerful if you can figure that out." Iroh said surprised.

"No actually you're too quiet. If I couldn't feel your footsteps next to me, I would have thought you were gone." Toph replied.

"Oh. Am I?" Iroh asked as Toph nodded.

"What did that guy want?" Toph asked curiously.

"I cannot talk about it I'm afraid. Whatever is discussed in the confidence of the Order of the White Lotus is a secret to everyone but its members. And you are no member, Toph…at least not yet." Iroh explained.

"Yeah sure. Let me guess. He was looking for his lost family member he feared was captured in Fire Nation territory before the day of Black Sun, right? He had a wanted poster of them, right?" Toph asked rather impatiently as Iroh looked somewhat annoyed.

"Did you listen in on our conversation Toph?" Iroh asked as Toph scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Didn't have to. I know who he is and who he's looking for." Toph replied angrily.

"You do?" Iroh asked even more surprised.

"Yeah. The wanted poster is for a girl known as "the Runaway," right? And the picture, I assume, looks very much like me, right? Well that's because I AM the Runaway. I got the title for scamming a bunch of Fire Nation con artists when Twinkle Toes, Sweetness, Captain Boomerang, and I were trying to lay low in the Fire Nation and reach the rendezvous point for the Black Sun Invasion." Toph explained tersely.

"Then why are you getting so upset?" Iroh asked curiously.

"Because the guy looking for me was and is my pompous, snobby, overprotective Dad! I ran away from home to help Aang learn Earthbending because Dad wouldn't let me go. Instead he wanted to keep me locked up at home and never let me go anywhere! I do not want to be caged up without any kind of freedom! Do you know what it's like to feel like you're not even loved by your own parents?!" Toph asked angrily as Iroh stayed silent for a while, letting Toph stew in her emotions for a moment.

"As a matter of fact…I do." Iroh replied softly as Toph's eyes widened.

"Oh…wow sorry Iroh." Toph said apologetically.

"It is okay Toph. Just because you can't feel their love, doesn't mean that they don't feel love for you. Everyone has their own way of showing their love for others. For you it is through nicknames and the occasional punch in the arm. For your parents, what may seem like imprisonment to you is safety to them. They probably love you so much that they wanted to protect you from the dangers of the world." Iroh explained.

"You're taking their side?!" Toph asked disbelievingly.

"I'm not taking anyone's side Toph. Sometimes love can become obsession, and when it becomes obsession, then that's when you know it's too much. It sounds to me like your parents became obsessed with your safety and that made you want to get away from them all the more. It is natural instinct to do what we are told not to. But you tried to force them to show love for you by running away occasionally, and when they finally found you, what to you seemed like their usual overprotective attitude was actually their love for you rising to the surface, but you've lived with this over protectiveness for so long, you can hardly tell the difference anymore." Iroh explained as Toph looked thoughtful and remained silent until they reached their apartment and walked inside.

"You're probably right Iroh. I probably couldn't tell the difference between their love and their obsession. But like you said…everyone shows affection in different ways, and I can tell the difference for some people. You're generally nice to everyone you meet unless they give you a reason to dislike them…and you haven't once given me any special treatment because I'm blind, even letting me work at the tea shop so I can stay here instead of going back to my parents." Toph said as she sat down at the dining table and Iroh chuckled.

"Aww please, you're an excellent server and besides…I couldn't let you go wandering about the city alone with nowhere to go. Even if it was the Avatar in your place, I wouldn't let him go without a place to stay." Iroh said as Toph smiled.

"Thanks Iroh." She said.

"You should see your father tomorrow. I know part of you must miss him." Iroh said as Toph nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe I will give him a second chance. We'll see how tomorrow goes. But I can't help but wonder…" Toph said as she scratched her chin and Iroh arched a curious eyebrow.

"Wonder about what?" Iroh asked.

"Wonder what Twinkle Toes has gotten himself into to make that Avatar statue glow like you said." Toph replied as she and Iroh pondered silently.

* * *

**  
In the Fire Nation…**

Zuko had instantly called upon the Fire Sages, upon seeing the Roku statue glow, and he knew that they would be the best ones short of the Avatar himself to provide an answer. He sat on his throne in the throne room, but without the burning barrier between the stage the throne sat on and the floor where the rest of the people would be.

Mai sat next to him on a beautifully made chair. Zuko wasn't as stuck up as his father when it came to having close friends or relatives in the same room. So instead of the simple pillow that sat outside of the gold plated gazebo the throne sat under, Zuko had the chair made specifically so Mai could sit immediately at his right hand.

Mai normally didn't care for politics, just Zuko, and at the moment he was worried what the glowing statue might have meant. She was worried too but she was there more for Zuko than the Avatar.

"You are correct Fire Lord Zuko, the glowing eyes on the Roku statue do indeed mean that the Avatar has entered the Avatar state. But that's only when the Avatar's presence is announced to the world. Unless Avatar Aang is dead and the new Avatar has arisen so soon-." The Lead Sage said before getting cut off by Zuko.

"How DARE you speak of Avatar Aang that way! Do it again and I'll have you thrown out of the palace!" Zuko threatened as the sages cowered.

"Y-y-yes Fire Lord Zuko, it won't happen again." The lead sage said fearfully as he backed up and another sage, the once imprisoned Fire Sage Shyu approached.

"If I may milord. I have been studying the ancient texts carefully and I believe that when the statues glow a second time, it is when the Avatar's spirit is involuntarily brought into a plain of existence that sits within the narrow void between this world and the spirit world. Avatar Kuruk was brought to this plain once and triggered the statues accidently when he was trying to find out the identity of his wife's killer." Shyu explained as Zuko pondered.

"So you're saying that Aang might have been brought to this plain?" Zuko asked as Shyu and a couple other sages nodded.

"Does anyone know where the Avatar is at the moment?" Zuko asked as the sages looked at each other nervously then shook their heads.

"Very well then. Fortunately I know the location of two people who can help us figure out what's going on." Zuko said as he looked down at the large map of the world on the floor with his eyes settled on Kyoshi Island then Ba Sing Se.

Mai looked at both of these locations herself and in her mind, she knew what she had to do.

* * *

**  
On Kyoshi Island…**

Sokka was busily packing things in the bag he had bought when the gang was searching for Aang's Earthbending teacher and wound up finding Toph. Suki then walked in with Ty Lee close behind.

"Are you going somewhere Sokka?" Suki asked curiously.

"I'm going home to the South Pole, to check on Aang. Something caused that statue to glow and last I heard, Aang and Katara had gone back to the Southern Water Tribe." Sokka replied as he continued packing.

"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea…there's just one problem." Suki said as Ty Lee held up a broken plank of wood.

"What is that?" Sokka asked confused.

"This is all that remains of the last boat that tried to leave this place. The Unagi has gotten more aggressive recently and has sunken every ship that's tried to enter or leave. We're practically stuck here." Suki said dejectedly.

"Oh…great." Sokka said as his head drooped.

"Hey cheer up, maybe your friend will come on that big white furry thing and pick us up." Ty Lee said with a big goofy grin.

"I hope so, either that or a ship with a thick metal hull." Sokka said semi-sarcastically.

"Ooh a Fire Nation ship, yeah that would do the job." Ty Lee replied as Sokka face palmed.

"So how do we find out what's going on with Aang?" Sokka asked as Suki thought for a moment then shrugged despairingly.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what turns up." Suki said as Sokka shrugged.

"Or we can just use that submarine thingy that mechanic guy left in the cave on the north shores" Ty Lee said, dangling upside down from the rafters. Sokka and Suki were understandably stunned at the revelation.

"Wait a minute! You mean that there's been a sub stashed here for almost a month?!" Sokka asked as Ty Lee nodded.

"Uh-huh. He left it here so we could use it and escape in secret in case of an emergency. He even built it so that it could work without using Waterbenders." Ty Lee explained.

"How do you know that?" Suki asked curiously.

"The cute guy in the wheelchair is the guy's son, and he told me about it." Ty Lee explained as she dropped down from the rafters and landed standing on her hands.

"Hmm…well I guess this could be considered an emergency." Sokka said as Suki nodded.

"Then you're going to need some help using it. So count me in." Suki said as Sokka smiled.

"Ooh I've wanted to see what it's like underwater and not drown or get wet for once, so can I come?" Ty Lee asked as Sokka and Suki looked at each other.

"Uh sure?" they both replied, inspiring Ty Lee to squeal with glee and cartwheel out and to her home.

Sokka and Suki looked at each other curiously and shook their heads at Ty Lee's reaction.

"Okay, that girl…needs to lay off the Cactus juice." Sokka said, causing Suki to arch a confused eyebrow.

"Cactus juice?" she asked curiously.

"It's a long story…a very. Long. Story." Sokka replied with an absolutely miserable expression as he continued packing.

* * *

**  
Back in the Southern Water Tribe Village…**

The last of the supplies were being loaded onto Appa's saddle with Momo lending a hand as Hakoda, Pakku, and Kanna were bidding their farewells to Aang and Katara.

"Be careful out there Katara. It seems quite the reverse of the last time one of us left the other behind at the South Pole. This time, you're leaving me to go elsewhere." Hakoda said as Katara smiled and threw her arms around her father's neck.

"Thanks Dad. I'll miss you. And I'll come back as soon as possible. We both will." Katara said as Hakoda smiled and nodded.

"Take care of yourself and Aang while you're out there Katara." Kanna said as Pakku and Katara both nodded in agreement.

"I will Gran-Gran." Katara said as she hugged both of her grandparents.

"I don't need to tell you to use your Waterbending when you need to now do I?" Pakku asked as Katara shook her head with a smile.

"Thanks anyway Master Pakku." Katara said before turning to climb onto Appa's back.

"Now Aang, be good to my daughter. I don't want to hear of her getting into any…"Trouble" while she's with you." Hakoda said, but his comment went straight over Aang's head.

"Okay?" Aang replied with a completely lost look on his face.

"Do take care of yourself Aang. And if you see Sokka, be sure to tell him hello for us okay?" Kanna said as Aang bowed humbly to the elder woman.

"I will Gran-Gran." Aang said as Pakku placed his hand on the Avatar's shoulder.

"I wish you luck in your journey. Hopefully you may find whatever that vision of yours is wanting you to find." Pakku said as Aang smiled and bowed again.

"Thank you Master Pakku. I hope I do too." Aang replied before turning and Airbending up onto Appa's head, staff in hand.

"Bye everyone! We'll be back soon!" Katara shouted from Appa's back as the villagers cheered and waved.

"Appa! Yip-Yip!" Aang shouted as Appa gave one of his guttural roars and immediately took to the skies, heading north.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 2.**

**Please R&R…**


	3. Return to the Southern Air Temple

Aang and Katara had been flying for several hours, and the sun was already starting to dip below the mountain range they were passing.

"You know I can never get over how beautiful the world looks from up here." Katara said as she gazed out over the shifting landscape.

"Yep. It's really beautiful." Aang said, as he looked at her.

"You think so?" Katara asked curiously.

"Sure. I mean you'd have to be blind not to think the world is beautiful." Aang replied.

"I sure hope Toph never hears you say that." Katara chuckled.

"I wonder how Toph is doing these days." Aang pondered as Katara nodded.

"Yeah. I wonder how Sokka and Suki are doing too sometimes. I really didn't notice how much I miss him until we returned to the Southern Water Tribe after traveling for so long." Katara said as Aang nodded.

"I miss him too…Same with Toph and Suki…and even Zuko." Aang said.

"Yeah. Life just hasn't been quite the same since the gang broke up. It's only been a month and yet it feels like a year." Katara said as Aang had an idea.

"Hey I know! Maybe when we're done at the Southern Air Temple, we should go and see how they're all doing. Even if there is nothing special at the Temple." Aang suggested as Katara looked excited.

"Oh Aang could we?!" Katara asked as Aang nodded. This inspired Katara to give Aang a kiss on the cheek, causing the latter to blush.

"Hey look! There it is!" Aang said as Momo leapt onto his head and started chittering excitedly. Sure enough, there was the Southern Air Temple in all its glory. Aang guided Appa down to land on the cobblestone surface of the temple grounds.

"It's getting late Aang. Perhaps we should make camp here for tonight." Katara suggested and Aang nodded in agreement.

"Good idea. Appa's tired as it is right now. But here's the hard question…do we checkout my old room first or do we set up camp?" Aang asked as Katara smiled.

"I was figuring we could camp out in the temple. There are rooms and a Sky Bison stable here after all right?" Katara asked as Aang nodded.

"Good idea. Then let's go check out my old room." Aang said as he and Katara headed off into the temple, leaving Momo and Appa to head for the stables.

Aang led Katara through the temple to a tall circular room with a spiraling staircase that ran upwards along the walls all the way to near the very peak of the room where a beautiful fresco painting of a yin yang on the ceiling but with a moon on the black side and a sun on the white side, representing day and night.

"These are the dormitories where everyone stayed. Most of us would just Airbend our way up but some of the Monks would walk up. They said that taking the stairs, symbolized the spiritual journey one takes to achieve mastery over Airbending." Aang said.

"It's beautiful Aang. But where's your room?" Katara asked as Aang chuckled nervously.

"Well…before I left, I was pretty much an Airbending master so my room is waaaaaayyyy up near the top." Aang said as Katara gave him a death glare.

"On second thought I think I'll just go check on Momo & Appa." Katara said as Aang stepped into her path with a pleading expression.

"You don't have to walk Katara, I've got an idea." Aang said as he quickly ran through a door on the bottom floor and emerged with a long piece of rope. He quickly tied one end of the rope around his waist and the other around the top of his staff. He then handed the staff to Katara with the wings extended.

"Just hold on tight and we'll get to the top in no time." Aang said as he made an Air Scooter and leapt onto it. Katara quickly caught on and held onto the glider as Aang tore off up the stairs, pulling the glider which hovered above the ground behind Aang.

The two laughed with glee as they literally flew up the stairs. The further up the stairs they flew, the more they started seeing doors with a familiar black arrow painted onto them. These doors were those of the Airbending masters, which included most if not all of the Monks. Finally however they reached a door near the top with a white arrow painted on it and they stopped.

"That was fun!" Katara said as she caught her breath from laughing for so long.

"Ain't it though? But we can do that some more later. Cause here we are. My room." Aang said as he opened the door which practically fell off its hinges and fell flat on the floor.

Aang and Katara entered slowly to see a dust covered room with cobwebs scattered everywhere. The room was really simple. It had a bed with a window against the wall by it, a table with a Pai Sho board top on it, complete with the Pai Sho tiles still in place from the last game played with them one hundred years ago. There was a closet near the bed that was filled with mildewed robes.

Aang looked around and sighed disheartedly as the memories of his life living at the temple surfaced to the top. A tear even ran down his cheek from the memories. Aang then looked towards his bed and noticed something was amiss. His bed was covered with dust like the rest of the room but there was something under the covers that made the blanket bulge slightly. He pulled back the covers and found a scroll sitting there.

"What is it Aang?" Katara asked as Aang picked up the scroll and looked it over.

"This scroll isn't from here. It's a Fire Nation scroll. See the handles on the ends? They're red. Air Nomad scrolls use orange." Aang said as Katara looked thoughtful.

"You're right. The Water Tribes use light blue, while the Earth Kingdom uses dark green. I always wanted to know what color the Air Nomads used." Katara said as Aang unraveled the scroll.

Katara looked over his shoulder and read aloud…

"_Dear Avatar._

_If you are reading this message, then you probably believe that you are the last of the Air Nomads. __Don't believe it!!!__ I know you probably have no reason to believe what this letter says because of its Fire Nation stationary but please at least read this letter to the end for I know of a great secret that could help you bring balance back to the world._

_There is a legend that has been passed down for at least two generations in my time…the legend of the Dao de Mian. It is said that many years ago, Avatar Roku correctly feared that Fire Nation Fire Lord, Sozin would raise an army to conquer the world and that he would start by removing the potential threat of the Avatar. He knew that if Avatar Roku died, the new Avatar would be reborn into the Air Nomads, then the Water Tribes, then the Earth Kingdom, before finally returning to the Fire Nation. Roku suspected that Sozin would hunt down the Air Nomads to the point of extinction just to find the Avatar._

_To avoid the Air Nomad's total annihilation at the hands of Sozin, Avatar Roku gathered people from all three of the other nations. He deliberately left out the Fire Nation for fear of his plan being discovered and reported back to Sozin. He gathered men, women, and children from the three nations and took them to an island somewhere in the world. He then somehow hid the island and it has since remained a mystery._

_I write you this letter because amongst those islanders are Air Nomads who could possibly restore balance to the world and allow the Avatar cycle to continue. I myself have not found this island, but as the Avatar, __you__ might._

_The first place to go is an island that was made by the last Earth Kingdom born Avatar, Kyoshi Island, where I have found a clue as to the whereabouts of the island._

_I wish you luck on your journey Avatar._

_Signed,_

_The Arrow of the North."_

Aang and Katara were stunned at what they had read. Aang even dropped the letter when he finished reading it.

"Aang, can this be true?!" Katara asked in shock but Aang remained silent as if contemplating his answer. Finally…

"I don't know. Master Roku never said anything about something like this before." Aang said as Katara picked up the letter and rolled it up.

"Well it said we should go to Kyoshi Island to find the next clue so perhaps we should head there tomorrow morning." Katara suggested as Aang remained silent but nodded.

"Aang…for your sake I hope what this letter said was true." Katara said as she walked out the door, leaving Aang alone with his thoughts.

**…**

Later Katara was down in a large atrium, sitting around a campfire where Appa and Momo lay slumbering nearby. Katara was sitting in her sleeping bag, deep in thought as Aang finally returned.

"Aang…are you going to be okay?" Katara asked as Aang remained silent for a moment before sniffling and sitting down on the floor with his head resting in his hands as he cried.

"Oh Aang. It'll be alright." Katara said as she climbed out of her sleeping bag and put her arms around the crying Avatar.

"I wish I hadn't runaway! I wish I had just stayed here and let the Monks send me where they wanted to! Then I could have ended the war before it got out of hand!" Aang cried as Katara held him close.

"But Aang…if you hadn't runaway, you might have died or you may not have been able to master all four elements in time. Plus…we would never have met." Katara said as Aang looked up at her with teary eyes.

"That is one good thing that running away did. It brought us together." Aang said as Katara smiled and dried his tears.

"Come on Aang, let's get some rest. Tomorrow we can go see Sokka and Suki on Kyoshi Island." Katara reassured as Aang nodded in agreement then quickly leapt onto Appa's tail, using it as a large furry blanket.

Katara chuckled quietly to herself at the sight before she quickly returned to her sleeping bag and soon they had both dozed off.

* * *

**  
In the Fire Nation…**

It was midday and Fire Lord Zuko was busily meeting with his advisors. Mai had wandered off somewhere after the meeting with the Fire Sages and hadn't been seen since. Zuko wasn't surprised and he didn't expect her to stay for all the meetings.

"Our troops have been completely withdrawn from Ba Sing Se and from around Omashu. We estimate a full withdrawal from Earth Kingdom Territory by the end of the year." One of the Generals reported.

"What of our navy? Have they been removed from the northern and southern waters?" Zuko asked.

"They've received the orders but it will still take some time for them to completely clear the area." An Admiral reported as Zuko nodded approvingly.

"Milord if I may…" a general said as he entered from down the entrance, "…Shouldn't we consider leaving a few bases occupied in or near the Earth Kingdom territories to prevent any sort of reprisals?"

"If the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribes retaliate for the one hundred years of war then we will defend ourselves but from on our own turf. We will defend the land that is ours, not conquer the land that is theirs. The one hundred years of war is over, and I want all of you to understand that. Also bear in mind that this meeting started five minutes ago. Tardiness is not becoming of a high ranking Officer, General Azul." Zuko replied tersely as the General in question stepped into the light.

He was a tall and muscular man with a shaved head but with a single black ponytail sticking out from the back of his head. He had black sideburns that went down to near his chin then went straight up to connect to his moustache. He was General Azul, named partially after Fire Lord Azulon, and he was one of the few Generals who had served under Fire Lord Ozai and still retain his post after the change in leadership. He was known simply as "the Demon" for his menacing presence on the battlefield and his Firebending prowess. Zuko had kept him on because of the loyalty Azul commanded in his men. Whether it was true loyalty or fear that kept his men in line was still up for debate however.

"My apologies Milord. I was only thinking of the security of the nation. I beg your forgiveness." Azul replied oily.

"Very well, just don't be late again." Zuko replied as Azul bowed humbly and took his place around the world map.

"Most of our air forces were destroyed in the sabotage attempt during the attack on Ba Sing Se, but the refit on the remaining airships to serve as cargo and passenger transports is moving along swiftly. We expect our first airship transports to be ready by the end of the week. We are building replacements at the same time however." Another general reported.

"Excellent, keep up the good work." Zuko said as Azul looked displeased.

"Milord, perhaps converting all of the airships into transports is not the best idea. Leave a few of them as warships just in case." Azul said as Zuko pondered in thought and finally nodded.

"Very well. The Fire Nation won't be invading anyone anytime soon but that's not to say there won't be those who won't try and invade us. Keeping our defenses strong is a good strategy for the time being so we'll keep a few combat airships." Zuko said as Azul gave a humble nod in appreciation.

"There is the matter of our prisons milord. Some feel that having former Fire Lord Ozai locked away there is a security risk, that there are many who fear that someone may attempt to release him and try to reinstate him as Fire Lord." Another General said as Zuko narrowed his eyes at the mention of his father.

"The Avatar obliterated my father's ability to Firebend…all he has left is his physical strength. He won't be able to lead as a Firebender anymore. But I have my own reasons for keeping him in the prison here near the capitol. Just put him in the highest security cell available." Zuko ordered as the general nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes milord." The general replied.

"If there is nothing else to discuss then let us adjourn for the day." Zuko said as all the Admirals and Generals stood up and bowed respectfully to Zuko before turning and leaving. Zuko then departed the chambers alone to try and find Mai.

As soon as he was out of sight however, Azul and a few of other officers gathered around in a crude group huddle.

"(Sigh) Another day of watching our nation taking steps backwards instead of forwards. Why did Zuko have to become the Fire Lord?" one of the Admirals asked in a terse whisper.

"Because Azula's lost her mind and Ozai is powerless. There is no one else within the royal bloodlines that can rule other than Zuko or Iroh. And Iroh is content to sit making tea, safe and sound behind Ba Sing Se's walls, the traitor." One of the Generals spat.

"The Fire Nation had won the war before Zuko came along and completely undid everything in one day that took our ancestors a century to accomplish. If it wasn't for him and the Avatar, then we could have the whole world on their knees as members of the Fire Nation." An Admiral grumbled.

"Then perhaps it is time to force change." Azul said calmly, causing the other officers to glare at him in silent horror.

"Are you mad Azul? Talk like that could be considered as treason!" a General said in a whisper.

"Treason to whom? To those within the nation who supported Fire Lord Ozai? Or to the few within the Fire Nation and the other kingdoms of the world who support Zuko? It's all a matter of perspective." Azul said as the officers looked at each other curiously yet nervously.

"He's right. There are a number of people, high ranking and powerful people, who are dissatisfied with Zuko's plans for the Fire Nation." One of the Admirals said in agreement.

"The Fire Nation was meant to conquer the world, not conquer it then relinquish control back to those we conquered. This time, we will conquer the world and keep it." Azul said as the officers nodded in agreement.

"Then how do we go about dealing with Zuko? Half of the War Council and most of his advisors side with him. More still, half of the nation is tired of the war." A general said as Azul glanced towards the currently empty throne.

"Leave that, to me. You just get our forces ready for this power grab we're making." Azul said with a menacing glare towards the throne and the traitorous officers nodded in agreement.

Dark clouds were beginning to close in on the Fire Nation once again.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 3.**

I own Azul.


	4. Reunions both Good and Bad

**In Ba Sing Se…**

It was morning in the city, and Iroh and Toph had just arrived at the Jasmine Dragon to begin preparing for the day's business. Toph had been quiet all morning and Iroh knew the reason. She was nervous about "seeing" her father again. Iroh had just opened the front doors, signaling that the shop was open and there were already a few of the regular customers standing outside waiting.

As soon as the doors had opened the customers had started walking in. Amongst them was a young boy who had taken a shine to Toph. Said Earthbender however did not share those feelings.

"Hey there." The boy said in a slick tone.

"Hey Quin." Toph groaned as she walked past with a tray of tea.

"So I was thinking-." Quin said but was interrupted by Toph.

"There's a shocker." Toph mumbled sarcastically.

"-That you and I could go to this cool party a couple of the noble kids are throwing in the center ring tonight. All the cool kids in Ba Sing Se will be there." Quin said as Toph replied by stomping her right foot down, and causing a moderately sized rock to shoot up from the ground and hit Quin in the jaw.

"So is that a yes?" Quin asked as he watched the stars dance around his head.

"You will find, young Quin, that persistence doesn't always succeed." Iroh said as he helped the young man onto his feet, "Toph is still young and is still trying to find her place in the world. Give her some time to grow and mature, then try again and perhaps she will be more receptive. But for now I'd give her plenty of room."

"Thanks Mister Iroh sir. I'll be on my way then." Quin said with a sigh as he trudged out of the shop.

However shortly after he left, the man from last night entered just as Toph went into the back room to get more tea leaves.

"Ah welcome back my friend. What can I get you?" Iroh asked as the man sat down at a table. From the back room, Toph could feel that her father had arrived and froze.

"Well I was wondering if you had heard anything about that (ahem) thing we discussed last night." The man asked as Iroh motioned to wait a minute.

"Oh goodness me we're out of tea already. I could use some more leaves…preferably some jasmine flowers." Iroh called to the back room. Toph sighed and put a few jasmine flower buds into a small basket before slowly emerging from the back room with basket in hand.

"Here you go Iroh." Toph said softly as Iroh smiled and took the basket from her. Toph's dad was stunned at the sight of his lost daughter.

"Toph! It is you!!!" the man shouted with joy as he threw his arms around his daughter.

"Hi dad." Toph said as she semi-reluctantly put her arms around him.

"General Iroh, I want you to meet my father, Lao Bei Fong." Toph introduced as Iroh bowed respectfully.

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance Mr. Bei Fong. You have raised yourself quite an excellent Earthbender and a top notch tea server and Pai Sho player." Iroh said as Lao looked at him in disbelief.

"You knew she was here didn't you?" Lao asked as Iroh nodded.

"I did, but my silence was for Toph's sake. I wanted to hear both sides of the story before I made a decision. She claims that you've been over protective of her, even sending a pair of mercenaries to kidnap her and bring her back." Iroh explained as Lao sighed.

"The Avatar is to blame for that. He kidnapped her!" Lao replied.

"No he didn't, I ran away! Aang needed an Earthbending teacher and I wanted to help him. But you wouldn't let me!" Toph argued.

"Please Toph you don't know what you're talking about. The trauma of your kidnapping has probably injured your sanity." Lao said softly as Toph snarled.

"Actually I believe she does know what she's talking about. If it was not for her teaching the Avatar how to Earthbend, then the entire Earth Kingdom would still be Fire Nation territory and we would all be slaves to the Fire Nation. You owe her the benefit of the doubt Mister Bei Fong. A little bit of trust goes a long way." Iroh interrupted.

"Don't tell me how to raise my child when you haven't raised one yourself!" Lao growled. Toph's eyes widened with shock that her own father had dared to say that to Iroh, when she knew his history.

"Toph was right about you." Iroh said with narrowed eyes but he kept his cool, "I had a child once. A son. He died with honor and with dignity in battle trying to take this very city in the name of the Fire Nation. After that I had the chance of raising my Nephew and now he is the ruler of the Fire Nation! You are very fortunate that you have a daughter like Toph. Her sight may be forever lost to her but she is not blind, or deaf, or mute, or crippled! You on the other hand may be the one who is truly blind to not see the gift that you were given when Toph was born."

Lao stood in stunned silence as he listened to Iroh talk. He knew exactly who Iroh was, and he had heard he was an extremely wise man. Besides both he and Lao were members of the Order of the White Lotus, Iroh being a Grand Lotus, so he would be very wise to listen to what Iroh had to say.

"Now I suggest that you take some time out to get to know your daughter for real before you question her wisdom." Iroh suggested as Lao sighed and nodded.

"Perhaps you're right. Toph I-…Toph? Toph!!!" Lao exclaimed as he turned to see Toph was gone.

"She's run off again!" Iroh exclaimed.

"But where could she have gone?!" Lao asked confused.

"Far from here I'm afraid. She's going to go were none of us will find her, and she'll be very successful too. I think it's best if we just wait for her to return. She'll be back, just wait." Iroh said as Lao nodded in agreement.

"I hope you're right General." Lao said with a sigh.

…

Outside, Toph was running through the streets before jumping onto the first train that arrived at the nearby transit station. As she sat down, she mentally began believing that her father was obsessed with her and didn't love her as a daughter, but more as a piece of property. Toph couldn't believe that her own father had insulted Iroh the way he had. She then started wondering why she was running and what she was running from.

The train stopped at the outer eastern wall of the city, the same side the Fire Nation airships had approached from during Fire Lord Ozai's failed attempt to burn Ba Sing Se to the ground and where Toph, Sokka, and Suki had destroyed the entire Airship fleet. She decided to disembark there and continued running, through the wall using her Earthbending and into the still scorched forest that sat between the city and the ocean. She kept running until she finally ran out of breath and quickly Earthbended a rock for her to sit down and rest on.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself, "Why am I running? What is there to be afraid of?"

She then started thinking carefully about what it was…finally it came to her.

"Dad…I know you love me but…perhaps I need to be away from you for a while longer. Maybe you need to realize why I ran away. Maybe in time you'll understand." Toph said with tears running down her face.

"Oh great Toph, you're talking to yourself!" she said to herself before face palming.

"Sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to, even if it is yourself." A semi-familiar feminine voice said from nearby, startling Toph.

"Huh?! Who's there?!" Toph yelled as she tried to sense who was there but she couldn't sense anyone nearby.

"Take it easy, I'm right behind you. I won't hurt you. Don't you recognize me?" the voice asked as Toph turned around, still trying to sense where the voice was coming from.

"I recognize the voice, but I can't figure out where you are." Toph said as the voice sighed.

"What are you blind?!" the voice asked as Toph groaned.

"Uh, yeah I am actually!" Toph grumbled.

"Oh…sorry. Perhaps if I introduced myself." The voice said. Toph then felt the vibrations of someone stepping down from on top of something that was obviously not made of earth. She immediately recognized the person by their weight and voice.

"Wait a minute, aren't you-?!" Toph asked but was interrupted.

"Zuko's girlfriend? Then yeah. I'm Mai." The voice replied, leaving Toph stunned.

* * *

**On Kyoshi Island…**

Sokka, Suki, and Ty Lee were getting prepared to leave when they heard another commotion coming from the village.

"Oh great what now?!" Sokka asked as the three ran outside to see that the cause of the commotion was actually…

"Aang!!!" Sokka shouted excitedly as the three ran down to the Kyoshi statue where Appa was landing. Immediately the crowd of Avatar fans cheered as Aang and Katara climbed off of the hulking Sky Bison's back with Momo sitting on Aang's bald head.

"Hey everybody!" Aang greeted to the throng.

"AANG!!!" Sokka shouted as he leapt at the unsuspecting Avatar and then proceeding to hug the stuffing out of both Aang and Katara.

"Good (gasp) to see you too (gasp) Sokka!" Aang said as he gasped for air.

"Can't (gasp) breathe." Katara said, causing Sokka to release them instantly.

"Oh Sorry guys, I kinda got too excited." Sokka said sheepishly as Suki and Ty Lee approached.

"Ya don't say?" Katara asked sarcastically.

"So Aang what brings you back to Kyoshi?" Suki asked.

"Well we're kinda looking for something." Aang replied.

"Like what?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Well…does anyone here know of something called the Dao de Mian?" Aang asked as the cheering crowd suddenly fell silent, leaving a confused looking Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Ty Lee. Suki was among the stunned crowd.

"What did you say?" Suki asked with widened eyes.

"The Dao de Mian?" Katara answered confused.

"Why are you looking for that?" Everyone whose ever gone looking for it has never been seen or heard from since!" Suki explained.

"You don't understand. Katara and I went to the Southern Air Temple, following a vision I had and we found this letter in my old room." Aang said as he handed Suki the letter and blinked in disbelief as she finished.

"This can't be right. It has to be an old Fire Nation trick to try and trap the Avatar." Suki said as Aang shook his head.

"I doesn't matter. It's the first chance I've had to possibly restore my people. If it is a trap then I'm the fool. But I have to see if it's for real." Aang said as Sokka put an arm around him.

"Come on; let's go see if we can find ourselves a bunch of Airbenders." Sokka said as he led Aang off towards his and Suki's place. Aang and the others shrugged and followed close behind.

…

"Nice place Sokka." Katara said as they all sat down around the table outside of Sokka and Suki's place.

"Thanks. Suki designed it though." Sokka said as Suki blushed.

"I designed it to look like his Boomerang." Suki replied as Sokka choked on a tear.

"(Sniffle) Oh Boomerang where art thou?" he sniffled as Ty Lee and Momo patted him on the back comfortingly.

"There's one thing I don't get. If Avatar Roku was the one who hid the Air Nomads on the Dao de Mian, then why would that letter lead you here to Kyoshi Island, when Avatar Kyoshi came before Avatar Roku?" Suki asked.

"I don't know. I guess that whoever left the letter, found clues that Avatar Roku may have left." Katara replied.

"That's possible, but I don't have any idea where those clues might be." Suki said.

"In other words she doesn't have a clue to find a clue!" Sokka laughed.

(Random cough)

"So is there anywhere we should check first?" Aang asked.

"Well you may want to ask Chief Oyaji. He may know something." Suki said as Aang nodded.

"I'll do that, thanks Suki." Aang said as he, Katara, and Sokka got up to leave.

"I'm going with you. I smell an adventure and I want in!" Sokka said as Aang nodded.

"Glad to have ya with us Sokka." Aang said as the three walked off to find the Chief.

…

The three had found Chief Oyaji in the village square, standing next to the Kyoshi statue.

"A clue to the location of the Dao de Mian eh?" Chief Oyaji said as he scratched his bearded chin, "Well legend has it that Avatar Roku came here claiming to be on a sort of spiritual quest, to try and trace his Avatar roots. Some of the village elders claim that he would come and meditate at the base of the statue for hours at a time."

"Are you sure he left nothing here?" Aang asked curiously as Oyaji shook his head.

"I'm sorry Avatar but he left nothing. Well actually he did carve something into the base of the statue before he left." Oyaji said as he pointed at a small line of words, carved into the base.

The words read…

"_The Spirits Know All."_

"That is surprisingly not helpful at all." Sokka said with a sarcastic tone.

"Actually it does help." Aang said as he ran his hand over the wooden letters.

"It does?" Katara asked confused.

"Yeah. It means I need to go into the spirit world to find what I'm looking for." Aang said as he sat down in a meditative pose.

"Are you sure this will work?" Katara asked as Aang nodded.

"Definitely." Aang replied as he closed his eyes and soon his eyes and tattoos began to glow white as he entered the Spirit World.

* * *

**  
In the Spirit World…**

Aang found himself sitting within a spiritual opposite of Kyoshi village. There was nothing but an empty void around where the village sat. The statue was the only thing still standing from the real village. Aang looked around to see the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi herself, meditating peacefully to herself.

"Hey! Avatar Kyoshi!" Aang shouted, causing Kyoshi to open her eyes.

"Avatar Aang. I'm glad you have come." Kyoshi said as she stood up.

"You're the spirit guardian of Kyoshi Island aren't you?" Aang asked as Kyoshi smiled and nodded.

"Yes I am. Like I was their guardian in life I am their guardian in death. But I sense that you are not here to discuss my presence. You are here seeking the clue that Avatar Roku left to me regarding the location of the Dao de Mian." Kyoshi said as Aang nodded.

"Yes ma'am. Where do I go from here?" Aang asked eagerly. Kyoshi proceeded to pop her fans open and swirl them around majestically. Finally she stopped and a glowing golden sphere of energy appeared over her head and started floating down towards them. She grabbed the sphere and pulled out a large roll of paper and unrolled it, revealing a map of the world.

"This is a map of the world as it is now." Kyoshi said as the map suddenly sprouted three small dots. A green one over where Ba Sing Se was indicated, a blue one where the Northern Water Tribe fortress was located, and a red one on Ember Island in the Fire Nation. The green one for Ba Sing Se then started glowing gold.

"These markers will guide you to where you will find more clues regarding the location of the Dao de Mian." Kyoshi said as she rolled the map up and handed it to Aang.

"Wow thanks Avatar Kyoshi!" Aang said excitedly, but before he could turn to leave, Kyoshi grabbed his shoulder.

"Aang, with this knowledge comes a warning." Kyoshi said as Aang turned back to her worriedly.

"You will not only face those who would wish to stop you on Earth, there is one here in the Spirit World who wishes to see you fail." Kyoshi said.

"Who?" Aang asked as Kyoshi glanced around cautiously.

"Koh…the Face Stealer. He does not want to see you succeed Aang and will likely try to stir up trouble on Earth. But rest assured that he cannot steal your face when you are on Earth, so that is where you are safest from him." Kyoshi said as Aang nodded.

"Thank you Avatar Kyoshi. I will follow your guidance." Aang said with a respectful bow, which Kyoshi reciprocated, before he reentered his body.

* * *

**  
Back on Earth…**

Aang's eyes opened to find the map rolled up in his hands.

"Whoa Aang where did you get that?!" Sokka asked surprised.

"I got it from Avatar Kyoshi herself. It's a map that will lead us to the Dao de Mian." Aang said as he stood up.

"Well come on let's see it." Sokka said as Aang unrolled the map, revealing the glowing marker over Ba Sing Se and the other markers over the Northern Water Tribe fortress and Ember Island.

"Wait a minute! Where is it?! Where is this place?!" Sokka asked impatiently.

"Avatar Kyoshi said that we would find more clues at those places but we had to go in order." Aang replied.

"So I guess that means we're going back to Ba Sing Se." Katara said as Aang nodded.

"Ba Sing Se?! Ooh can I come?!" Ty Lee asked as she popped up out of nowhere with Momo sitting on her head.

"You really want to come with us?" Aang asked as Ty Lee nodded frantically.

"Yep. That place has so many wonderful places to shop and they have all these neat things to buy! Plus I've always wanted to go to the Fancy Lady Day Spa. Besides things are kinda boring around here." Ty Lee said as Katara thought of something.

"Hey she's got that ability to paralyze people and keep them from using their bending abilities. Who knows she may turn out to be pretty helpful." Katara said as Sokka scoffed.

"You just want a more girly girl added to the team that you can talk with since Toph doesn't act girly enough for you." Sokka replied.

"And your point is?" Katara asked with her arms crossed.

"Oh. But let's remember that Aang, as the Avatar, has final say in the matter." Sokka said as Aang shrugged.

"Sure you can come with us Ty Lee." Aang said. Before they knew it, Ty Lee had thrown her arms around all three in a huge group hug.

"Ooh-I'm-so-excited-I-better-go-pack.-You-won't-regret-this!-SQUIEEE!!!" Ty Lee exclaimed before releasing the shell-shocked trio and running off in a cloud of dust.

"She's got team spirit you've got to give her that." Sokka said casually as Suki walked up.

"Hey Suki, you coming along with us?" Aang asked as Suki sighed and shook her head.

"I wish I could Aang, but the Kyoshi Warriors need to stay here. We were gone for far too long during the war and the people need to know that they're safe. My place is here with my people." Suki said as Sokka's face fell.

"What about me?!" Sokka asked, almost heartbroken.

"Sokka you of all people should know how important my people are to me. Would I want you to leave your people if the situation was reversed?" Suki asked as Sokka sighed.

"No. I guess you're right." Sokka said as Suki kissed him on the lips for a moment.

"No matter what happens out there Sokka, remember that I love you and I always will. You will always have a home here and it will always be open to you." Suki said as Sokka nodded.

"Oh and you might want these." Suki said as she handed Sokka his empty boomerang and sword sheaths, "Just in case you find your old weapons."

"You're the best Suki." Sokka said as he kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 4.**

How did Mai get to Ba Sing Se? Find out in the next chapter.

Please R&R…


	5. Mai's Exodus

**In the Forest outside of Ba Sing Se…**

"So you're Zuko's girlfriend…then what are you doing out here in the Earth Kingdom instead of the Fire Nation?" Toph asked as Mai shrugged.

"It's kind of a long story." Mai replied. Toph just rolled her blank eyes then Earthbended a fair sized rock and motioned for Mai to sit down.

"I've got nothing but time. I'm not going back into the city for a while." Toph said as Mai shrugged and sat down.

"What's your name again?" Mai asked.

"Toph Bei Fong…just call me Toph. I'm the one who taught Aang how to Earthbend." Toph explained.

"Well then, Toph. I guess I should start at the beginning. It all started when the eyes on a statue of Avatar Roku started glowing suddenly." Mai started.

"Hey Zuko's uncle Iroh said the same thing happened to one of the Earth Kingdom Avatar statues in the city last night." Toph explained as Mai rubbed her forehead.

"I forgot about the time change between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Morning in the Earth Kingdom is night in the Fire Nation." Mai said as Toph shrugged.

"It's all the same to me. I can't tell if it's day or night no matter where I am. But you were saying?" Toph asked as Mai continued.

"Well after the statue started glowing, Zuko called on the Fire Sages and they said that it could be when the Avatar was in some kind of great stress. He wanted to come either here or to a place called Kyoshi Island. But he needs to be with his people so…"

* * *

**  
The evening before in the Fire Nation…**

The sun had just dipped below the horizon and a hooded figure crept through the halls of the Royal palace. The figure came to a corner in time to hear a pair of armored footsteps. When the guards rounded the corner there was no one there.

As soon as they were out of sight, the figure dropped down from the rafters and continued on its way. The figure continued down the hall until it reached a pair of elaborate doors. The figure carefully crept through the door and into the room.

The room was actually an office…Zuko's office more specifically. Against the back wall was a pair of tall windows with red drapery. A fireplace against the right wall, glowing and crackling in the darkness of the room with a pair of towering marble carved bookcases on either side of it. On the wall opposite the fireplace was a door that led directly into Zuko's bed chambers. To the left of the door was a portrait of former Fire Lady Ursa, Zuko's mother. Beneath it was a small table with a pair of extinguished black wax candles and a vase full of red fire roses. To the right of the door was the painting of Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Zuko from the last time they were all at Ember Island. The painting was a rarity in that it was one of the few remaining paintings with Azula still in it…most others in the palace had Azula and/or Ozai deliberately cut out of the picture.

Sitting in the middle of the room was a beautiful redwood desk with golden plating at the corners and on the desk's feet. There was also a red leather chair sitting behind the desk, turned slightly towards Zuko's bed chamber door.

The figure moved around to the opposite side of the desk to see six decrees and proclamations that awaited Zuko's signature, stacked in a neat triangle formation in the upper left. In the upper middle was a tray of black ink with a pair of brushes sitting still sitting dipped in the tray. To the right was a picture of just Zuko and Mai from before Zuko's banishment, thus Zuko didn't have the scar in the picture. But the figure wasn't after anything on the desk.

The figure reached for the upper right drawer on the desk but it was locked. The figure reached into their sleeve and pulled out a small piece of metal wire. The figure then started pick the lock on the drawer. It heard a little click and pulled on the drawer only to find it still locked.

Suddenly a fireball hit the floor near the desk. The figure spun around to see an angry Zuko, Firebending flames along his lower right arm.

"Looking for something?" Zuko asked as the figure stood straight up in shock.

Zuko hurled the fireball but the figure leapt out of the way. Zuko used his Firebending to put out the fires caused by his Firebending and then returned his attention to the figure. He hurled another fireball at the figure but it leapt up onto the left bookcase. Fortunately it was bolted to the wall and didn't fall. Zuko was about to hurl another fireball when the figure quickly leapt across over to the right bookcase and then down to the floor. Zuko hurled the fireball at the figure who ducked, allowing the fireball to hit the wall near the bookcase.

Zuko then charged at the figure and swung with a flaming fist but the figure dropkicked him, sending him to the ground. But Zuko was fast and kicked the figure back in the stomach with both feet, sending it into the wall. He then leapt up with another flaming fist in his right and pinned the figure to the wall with his left.

"Any last words?" Zuko asked.

"Zuko wait!" the figure said with a very familiar female voice.

"Mai?!" Zuko asked as he stopped Firebending. The figure pulled back the hood revealing Mai's pale skinned face.

"Zuko I-…" Mai said sadly but stopped and looked way shamefully. Zuko gently turned her face back towards his.

"Mai what's going on?" Zuko asked confused.

"I know you wanted to go find out what was wrong with the Avatar but I know that you can't leave the Capitol at a time like this. So I figured that I should be the one to go and find out for you. That way you can both find out about what's happening to the Avatar and still remain here to guide our people. I was going to try and stow away on a relief transport to Ba Sing Se and see if your uncle knew anything. But the security was too tight for me to get through so I came back here to try and take your royal pass. I was going to leave a note on your throne but I-." Mai explained as a shameful tear ran down her face.

"You were going to steal my pass? Just to do all that? For me?" Zuko asked as Mai nodded.

"I can't believe it." Zuko said as he turned away in thought.

"Please, don't be angry at me. I'll serve my time Zuko, just please have mercy." Mai pleaded. Zuko remained silent and headed straight for his desk.

"I can't believe that you would do that…You know what it makes me realize Mai?" Zuko asked as he sat down at the desk as Mai clinched her eyes shut in fear.

"It makes me realize…that I have the greatest girlfriend in the world." Zuko said, causing Mai's eyes to open suddenly in shock.

"Now you need a royal pass right?" Zuko asked, dangling a small slip of paper by an attached string that bore the royal seal of the Fire Lord on one side and a couple of blank spots on the back. One blank was for the pass carrier's name and the other was for Zuko's name and royal seal to give it authenticity.

"For future reference, I keep the passes in the top left drawer and blank scrolls in the top right. Oh and next time…all you need to do is ask." Zuko said as Mai gave him a teary smile and approached the desk while Zuko filled out the pass then stamped it with his royal seal.

"You know something Zuko…you've definitely changed since you left to help the Avatar. And I really like this new Zuko more than the old one." Mai said as Zuko handed her the pass.

"I've felt different since then…I don't feel angry anymore. I feel much better actually." Zuko said before he and Mai kissed for a moment.

He then reached into the lap drawer of the desk and pulled out a small pale green card with the caricature of a dragon holding a tea cup on it and the words "Jasmine Dragon: Preferred Customer" written in gold lettering on it.

"Take this, just in case Uncle forgets you're my girlfriend and he charges you for your tea." Zuko said as Mai chuckled and kissed him again.

"I'll miss you." Mai said as they started drifting apart.

"Not as much as I'll miss you." Zuko said as Mai pulled the hood back over her head and crept out the door.

* * *

**  
Back in the present…**

"So Zuko just let you leave?" Toph asked as Mai nodded silently.

"I assume you're nodding." Toph said with her arms crossed.

"Oh sorry, yeah." Mai replied.

"Wow. Ol' Zuko sure has become a softy." Toph said as Mai shrugged.

"He's changed from when I first knew him. And I like this change." Mai said as Toph motioned to carry on.

"Yeah-yeah, so how did you get out here? The nearest port is on a small peninsula, north of here." Toph said.

"Well that's where it gets interesting." Mai said with a reluctant sigh.

* * *

**  
Half an hour earlier…**

Mai was sound asleep on a Fire Nation vessel when there was a sudden jolt, sending Mai tumbling out of bed and onto the hard metal floor.

"What the?" Mai asked confused as she stood up and dusted herself off. She headed out and onto the top deck where the Captain was barking orders to the crew.

"Captain! What's going on?!" Mai asked.

"My apologies milady but we seem to have run aground or struck a reef or something. We're dead in the water. But on the plus side we can see the walls of Ba Sing Se from here." The Captain said pointing off the port side towards a nearby beachhead with a small river delta that led all the way through a horribly scorched forest, past a huge field of towering rock pillars before finally reaching the walls of Ba Sing Se.

"I don't suppose you have a raft or something?" Mai asked as the Captain scratched his head.

"Well we do actually but why would you want to use it? Our boys are working on getting us cleared of the rocks as quick as they can." The Captain replied as Mai rolled her eyes.

"I'm kinda in a hurry so if you could prepare a small dinghy for me I would appreciate it. Besides I'm not going to be of much help to getting your ship unstuck unless I can find either a willing Earthbender or Waterbender to help." Mai said as the Captain shrugged.

"Whatever you say milady." The Captain said as he ordered his men to quickly lower a small metal dinghy into the water as Mai quickly grabbed her bags and climbed aboard.

"I'll try and find someone to help." Mai said as the Captain tipped his hat and Mai started rowing the boat towards the shore as soon as it touched the water.

* * *

**  
Back in the present…**

"After I reached the shore, I started walking along and then I saw you sitting on a rock and talking to yourself. I recognized you from the Avatar's group and I thought you might be able to help." Mai explained as Toph stood up.

"Oh. Wait if you needed my help, why didn't you just say so in the first place?" Toph asked as she started walking back towards the shore with Mai close behind.

"So what are you doing out here if you don't mind my asking?" Mai asked curiously.

"I kinda had a bit of a blowup with my dad. He also ticked off Zuko's uncle. I was afraid Iroh was going to Firebend him a new one so I ran. I guess I didn't stop running until I got tired." Toph said as Mai remained silent and looked up at the dead and burnt trees as they walked. She then saw something very peculiar sticking out of one of the trees.

"Uh hey Toph hang on a second." Mai said as Toph stopped and turned partially towards her.

"What's the matter gloomy? You okay?" Toph asked.

"I hope so, because I think I see a sword stuck in a tree trunk." Mai said as Toph blinked curiously.

"Have you been drinking any cactus juice lately?" Toph asked carefully.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mai asked confused.

"It's a long story. Just ask Sokka when you meet him." Toph replied.

"Okay…but I am definitely not seeing things. There's a sword with a black blade and decorative hilt sticking out of a tree.

"Wait a minute a black sword? I think I might know whose sword it is." Toph said.

"You do?" Mai asked curiously as Toph Earthbended a large boulder from the ground and slammed it into the tree, toppling it with ease. Mai then quickly walked over and pulled the sword from the shattered trunk. She then handed the blade to Toph who carefully ran her hand over the blade.

"Yep I'm right. I'd recognize this type of metal anywhere. Its space metal. A very rare type that we found when a small meteor hit the planet before the day of Black Sun. This bracelet here on my arm is of the same material." Toph said as Mai carefully wrapped the sword in a long strip of red cloth.

"Whose sword is it then?" Mai asked curiously.

"Sokka's. He made it himself while we had infiltrated the Fire Nation." Toph replied as they continued on towards the shore.

…

Toph had made short work of freeing the stuck ship from the rocks, by Earthbending the rock out from beneath it from the shore. Toph and Mai then started heading back towards the city. As they passed through the forest of rock pillars where Aang had defeated Fire Lord Ozai a little over a month ago, Toph took a moment to rest on a small boulder.

"Walking through this canyon may allow me to see better but its murder on my feet." Toph said as she cradled her left foot.

"What do you mean by "see better?" Mai asked as she sat down next to the blind Earthbender.

"Well I don't "see" like you do. I see through my feet with my Earthbending so that's why I walk around barefoot all the time." Toph explained.

"Sounds cool." Mai complemented.

"Thanks." Toph said as she leaned back on the rock with her hands. She then felt something strange through her Earthbending.

"Okay now it's my turn to sound crazy but there's something stuck in the rock formation behind us. Something metal." Toph said as Mai turned around to look up and down the rock. She then spotted something shiny sticking out of the rock.

"No you're not crazy. There is something there." Mai explained as Toph spat on the palms of her hands and then rubbed them together.

"Okay then stand back." Toph said before she slammed her fists against the pillar and caused it to shake a moment before the metal object fell out and clattered to the ground.

"What is it?" Mai asked as Toph froze before falling onto her back, bawling with laughter.

"I don't get what's so funny." Mai said as Toph used an Earthbending kick to knock the object into the air and land safely in her hand.

"I could recognize the shape when it hit the ground. It's Sokka's boomerang!" Toph laughed. Sure enough it was.

"What's so funny about it being his boomerang?" Mai asked confused.

"Because it never came back to him during the battle to stop the Fire Lord's airship fleet. But he lost both his boomerang and his sword while saving my life so it's sacrifice wasn't completely in vain." Toph said as Mai smirked.

"I assume you're going to really play with his mind on this one aren't you?" Mai asked as Toph nodded with a determined smirk.

"Oh you know it. Anything to toy with ol' Captain Boomerang." Toph replied as they continued on towards the city walls.

* * *

**  
Meanwhile…**

Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Ty Lee were riding on Appa's back as they flew towards Ba Sing Se.

"Wow it sure is nice from up here. So calm and peaceful. It's the perfect place to meditate." Ty Lee said with a relaxed sigh as she sat in a meditative pose.

"I'd forgotten just how far it is to Ba Sing Se from Kyoshi Island. At least this time we're not walking and can avoid the Serpent's Pass." Sokka said as he gazed down over the side at the massive lake where the Serpent's Pass itself sat.

"Yeah it sure is great to have Appa this time around." Katara said as she took a sip of water from the canteen slung around her back using her Waterbending.

"So how've things been back home sis? Anything I need to know about?" Sokka asked curiously as he sat back down in a reclined position in the back of the saddle.

"Well, we've built it into sort of a rather fortified place. Some of the kids there have Waterbending abilities so Master Pakku and I have been teaching them." Katara explained.

"What about Aang? What has he done around the village?" Sokka asked.

"Well he helped fortify the village, he built himself a home, which he demolished accidently with the Avatar state, and other than that…he's been quite a role model for some of the kids in the village." Katara replied.

"I don't think you're getting my question here Katara. Have you and Aang been getting friendlier since the end of the war?" Sokka asked, causing Katara to blush and Aang to pull his orange Air Nomad robe over his head in embarrassment.

"Sokka I don't think that's really appropriate. You don't hear me asking about you and Suki do you?" Katara asked as Sokka face palmed.

"No I mean has there been anything like betrothal necklace carving?" Sokka replied as he leaned back against the saddle. Katara and Aang blushed even more but Katara shook her head.

"Well I think you make a cute couple." Ty Lee said, bending backwards to look at the young and now startled Waterbender from upside-down.

"Uh thanks?" Katara replied. As soon as Ty Lee sat back up, Katara pointed her thumb at the Chi blocking acrobat with a "WTH" expression. Sokka just shrugged with a clueless expression in return.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 5.**


	6. The Gaang's All Here

**In the Jasmine Dragon…**

Lao Bei Fong had returned to the inn where he was staying, a little heartbroken, leaving Iroh alone to his thoughts. Iroh's thoughts had drifted to his late son Lu Ten and he was understandably heartbroken. Most of the customers had left in fear of a potential wildfire. So the Jasmine Dragon was empty, save for its distraught owner. But he wouldn't be alone for long. At that very moment outside the shop was a certain Avatar and his team as they climbed off of Appa's back.

"Here we are. Ba Sing Se." Aang said as Sokka took a deep breath.

"Ahh smell that chokingly naïve "nothing-important-happens-beyond-the-walls-for-us-to-notice" air of the locals." Sokka said sarcastically.

"I hope things aren't that bad now Sokka. Hopefully the Earth King has changed that. With the Dai Li practically exposed for suppressing the truth from its citizens to such extremes as brainwashing, they have no power anymore." Katara said as Sokka nodded in agreement.

"But fortunately there isn't a war on now so they don't have to deny anything anymore." Sokka replied as the gang started heading inside the Jasmine Dragon, leaving Momo and Appa outside. They then saw Iroh slouching behind the counter, facing away from the entering heroes.

"General Iroh!" Aang shouted, startling the "Dragon of the West."

"What?! Who?! Ah Avatar. You surprised me." Iroh said as he walked around from behind the counter.

"Sorry about that General. We didn't mean to frighten you." Aang said as they sat down at a table.

"Oh no worries Avatar. I was a bit preoccupied at the moment. So what can I do for you?" Iroh asked as he approached their table.

"Well we were kinda looking for Toph. Have you seen her?" Katara asked as Iroh sighed.

"Yes but she's run off. It's a long story." Iroh replied.

"Well would you happen to know anything about something called the Dao de Mian?" Sokka asked as Iroh's eyes widened.

"The Dao de Mian!" he said breathlessly, "How do you know of it?"

"We found a letter in the Southern Air Temple that said the Dao de Mian could help me restore the Air Nomads." Aang replied as Iroh nodded.

"Oh yes. That it can young Avatar. But you must be very careful who you mention that around. Some people might try to stop you. But sadly I don't know much about it myself. Only that it has natives of the Air Nomads, Water Tribe, and Earth Kingdom hidden away on its hidden shores and that no one who has ever set out in search of it has ever succeeded." Iroh said as Aang sighed despairingly.

"I get the feeling though that you're not here for just Toph or to gain insight on the Dao de Mian. You came here for some other reason." Iroh said as Ty Lee quickly snatched the rolled up map off of Aang's back and proceeded to unroll it on the counter.

"The map told us to come here because there's something, you know…hidden somewhere in the city that can help us find this magic disappearing island." Ty Lee explained as Iroh chuckled and looked at the map.

"That may be true but I'm afraid I don't know where to look. I am still fairly new to the city by comparison. A true native of Ba Sing Se might know where to look. I can offer you some tea in the meantime." Iroh chuckled as he immediately set about preparing a pot of jasmine tea.

"Thanks General." Aang said.

"So what now?" Katara asked.

"Simple. We go talk to the Earth King." Aang replied.

(Random Cough)

"HA-HA very funny Aang!" Sokka laughed sarcastically, "But seriously, what now?"

"I was serious." Aang replied.

"Uh-huh. Remember how difficult it was to get in to see the Earth King last time we were here?" Sokka asked.

"Sokka be reasonable. The only reason it was hard the last time was because Long Feng and the Dai Li kept us out. With both of them gone we'll probably have a much easier time of getting in to see him." Katara explained.

"She is correct young Water Tribesman. The Earth King has become much more welcoming to guests than when the Dai Li was in control." Iroh said as he approached with a steaming pot of tea, which only goes to show that Firebending does have its more domestic uses.

"Do you even remember our names?" Sokka asked dubiously. Iroh grinned sheepishly in response.

"Sorry. I'm afraid I only remember Ty Lee because of all the time she spent at the palace when Zuko and Azula were just children." Iroh said as Ty Lee cracked a huge grin.

"I would have thought Toph would talk about us at least." Katara said, a little insulted.

"Well she does she just uses some crude nicknames. Uh let's see there's Twinkle Toes…" Iroh said while serving their tea as Aang, Sokka, and Katara rolled their eyes.

"Aang." Sokka and Katara said in unison.

"…Sweetness…"

"Katara." Aang and Sokka said in unison.

"…and Captain Boomerang."

"Sokka." Aang and Katara said in unison.

"I guess that removes the need for introductions." Iroh said with a laugh.

"Too true." Ty Lee said with a nod before she took a sip of the tea.

"Which brings up the topic of why you're here Ty Lee?" Iroh asked curiously.

"It was getting kinda boring on Kyoshi Island and I figured Aang here needed help so I asked if I could come along and they let me." Ty Lee explained.

"Ah I see." Iroh said as he headed back behind the counter.

"Any idea when Toph is going to be back, General?" Aang asked as Iroh sighed and shook his head.

"No. She had a bit of emotional anguish this morning. But that is not for me to tell. I would be dishonoring her right to privacy by telling you without her consent. I'm afraid you will just have to wait for her return." Iroh said as the four looked at each other worriedly.

"I wonder what could have happened." Katara pondered.

"Yeah. I mean Toph doesn't get worked up easily. She usually is the kind that would beat the stuffing out of you then put it back in and beat it out again." Sokka said as Aang nodded in agreement.

"You're right about that Sokka. She usually doesn't say how she feels and she sure doesn't like showing it either." Aang said as Ty Lee pondered.

"She sounds kinda like my friend Mai. Mai has this dingy, gray, pasty, aura and doesn't show any kind of emotion. Well except for when it's just her and Zuko." Ty Lee said as she tapped her chin in thought.

"Wait you mean the girl with those razor blades coming out of her sleeves is a friend of Zuko's?" Sokka asked as Ty Lee nodded.

"Yep but I think she's more of Zuko's girlfriend." Ty Lee replied, causing Sokka's jaw to drop in shock.

"No way!?" he freaked.

"Sokka you've met her! She played Pai Sho with Suki and you didn't suspect she was Zuko's girlfriend?!" Katara asked as Sokka sunk down in his seat.

"Well I never really bothered trying to talk to her. You know?" Sokka replied sheepishly.

"Yeah Mai is never really one for conversation." Ty Lee said with another sip of her tea, completely unaware that said friend of hers was approaching the Jasmine Dragon with a certain blind Earthbender at that very moment.

…

"And I said that's what it will sound like when one of you spots it." Toph said as she waved her hand in front of her face with a cheeky smile, inspiring Mai to snicker.

"You really enjoy flaunting your blindness don't you?" Mai asked as Toph shrugged.

"Eh. You see nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times." Toph said, picking her nose with her pinky.

"You're also one for class too." Mai said sarcastically with a disgusted expression.

"Thanks." Toph replied, knowing full well that Mai was being sarcastic.

"So do you think General Iroh will know what's happening with the Avatar?" Mai asked as Toph shrugged.

"How should I know? His brain must weigh a ton as it is since he's always spouting words of wisdom everywhere all the time. I don't know what he does or doesn't know half the time." Toph said as Mai shrugged.

"I guess we'll just have to find out when we get there." Mai said as she caught a glimpse of the Jasmine Dragon, a block away. Toph however suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Actually I think we're both going to find out what happened." Toph said before she suddenly started running towards the tea shop.

"Huh?" Mai asked as she chased after the fleeting Earthbender.

Toph rounded the corner to the front of the shop where Appa was standing outside. Appa simply walked up to Toph and gave her a lick with his giant tongue.

"Appa! I thought it was you! Of course how many ten ton Sky Bison's do I know?" Toph asked as Mai rounded the corner and skid to a halt in front of Appa.

"What is that thing exactly?" Mai asked worriedly as Appa sniffed her.

"This is Appa. He's Aang's Sky Bison." Toph introduced. Appa, on cue, proceeded to give Mai a lick with his giant tongue.

"Just thrilled." Mai grumbled as she wiped away the Bison spit.

"Come on; let's go see what Twinkle Toes is up to." Toph said as she and Mai headed up the steps to the Jasmine Dragon. Neither of them expected Momo to suddenly fly past them and into the shop.

"What was that?!" Mai asked in surprise.

"That was probably Momo. He's a Flying Lemur and I hardly ever get a good feel for him because he's either flying or sitting on someone's shoulder all the time." Toph said as they headed inside. Momo was standing on the table pointing at the door excitedly and the other four were gathered around looking at him concerned.

"What's he saying?" Sokka asked.

"Maybe there's something wrong outside." Katara suggested as Toph snuck up to the group.

"What's the matter buddy?" Aang asked curiously.

"Beats me cause I saw nothing outside." Toph said, causing Aang and Katara to look in her direction with a surprised expression. Sokka and Ty Lee however were clueless.

"Thanks so much for the input Toph but we both know you're-…" Sokka said as he and Ty Lee finally caught on that Toph was behind them, "…You just enjoy tormenting me don't you Toph?"

"Pretty much." Toph said with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. Suddenly Ty Lee and Mai noticed each other.

"MAI!!! What are you doing here sad sack?!" Ty Lee asked, surprised.

"I could ask you the same thing Ty Lee." Mai said, equally surprised.

"Toph how've ya been?!" Aang asked as Toph leaned back on a large chunk of rock she had Earthbended up from behind her.

"Eh same ol' same ol'. How about you guys? What's new?" Toph asked with a smirk.

"Well we're looking for some hidden island known as the Dao de Mian." Sokka said as Toph shrugged.

"Never heard of it." She replied.

"Does this Dao de Mian have anything to do with the statues of the Avatars suddenly start glowing?" Mai asked as everyone turned their attention to her.

"It happened in the Fire Nation too?" Iroh asked as he approached.

"Yes. Zuko let me come here to see if you knew anything but seeing as how the Avatar himself is here I guess he's the better person to ask. Err no offence General Iroh sir." Mai said as Iroh laughed.

"Ah don't worry about it Mai. No offence taken." Iroh said.

"You said that a statue of an Avatar started to glow? The same thing happened with the statue of Avatar Kyoshi on Kyoshi Island." Sokka said as Aang and Katara nodded.

"I got pulled into the Avatar State when I suddenly had this vision. It was a vision telling me to go to the Southern Air Temple, the Air Nomad temple where I lived before I disappeared one hundred years ago. While there, Katara and I found this letter that told me to go looking for the Dao de Mian. It's supposed to be able to help restore the Air Nomads so there can be true balance in the world." Aang explained.

"You really should tell this to Zuko. He wanted to come here himself but his duties as Fire Lord make it very difficult for him. That's why I'm here." Mai explained.

"We can't go to the Fire Nation just yet. See we're trying to find the clues to the Dao de Mian and this map shows us where to go to find the clues." Katara explained.

"But we don't know where to look in Ba Sing Se." Aang added.

"We were going to ask the Earth King. Want to come with us Mai?" Ty Lee asked as Mai shrugged.

"Sure. Beats what I'm doing now…which is nothing." Mai replied.

"Glad to have you with us Mai." Aang said as Mai nodded appreciatively.

"Well shall we go see the Earth King?" Sokka asked, pointing to the door. Momo answered by quickly clamoring up onto his shoulder and pointing out the door heroically.

"Oh before we go anywhere. I think you could use these." Toph said as she waved Sokka's boomerang out in front of her.

"(Gasp) BOOMERANG!!! YOU **DO** ALWAYS COME BACK!!! Suki was right about you!" Sokka exclaimed as he quickly snatched the prodigal boomerang from Toph's hand and cradled it like a baby.

"We also found this too." Mai said as she presented the "Space sword" wrapped in the red cloth from earlier. Sokka was understandably shocked.

"Suki was right about both of my weapons! They came back to me!" Sokka said as he sheathed both his sword and boomerang.

"Does that mean you're back to fighting form again Sokka?" Katara asked playfully as Sokka quickly stood at attention and saluted like a soldier.

"Ready!" Sokka replied, as the rest of the group walked out and he fell in step behind them.

"See ya Iroh! I'll stop by before we leave the city if I can!" Toph shouted to the former General.

"Take care of yourself Toph! Oh wait!" Iroh shouted as he ran after them.

"Something wrong General?" Aang asked curiously.

"I forgot to give you this Toph." Iroh said as he handed her a small round piece of stone tile. Toph ran her hands over it and smirked appreciatively.

"Thanks Iroh." Toph said before she punched the General in the arm and joining the others as they climbed onto Appa's back.

* * *

**  
Meanwhile in the Fire Nation…**

General Azul walked into Zuko's office where he found the Fire Lord himself sitting at his desk and signing scrolls.

"Fire Lord Zuko. Might I have a word with you?" Azul asked as Zuko glanced up at the towering General.

"Make it quick General." Zuko said as he continued filling out the scrolls.

"I felt it was necessary to bring this to your attention milord but I overheard one of the generals say he was threatening to challenge you to an Agni Kai over leadership of the Fire Nation." Azul said quietly as Zuko paused. He then looked up at the general with narrowed eyes.

"Which General is it and what's his problem?" Zuko asked.

"I believe it was General Li, though I'm not entirely certain. He was saying he was very displeased with the direction you're taking the Nation. He feels that were it not for the Avatar, we would be the rightful rulers of the world and only the Water Tribes would remain. He would then vow to focus his attention on the water tribes and finally bring them into the fold. I'm not sure why he believes this when we all agree that you are only doing what is best for the world." Azul explained oily.

"Then tell whichever General or Admiral that said it, that I accept his challenge of Agni Kai and that I'll make him sorry he ever challenged me." Zuko said angrily as Azul bowed humbly before the Fire Lord.

"As you command milord." Azul said before he stood up and turned towards the door. As he walked out the door, a sinister smirk appeared on his face.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 6.**

What is Azul planning? Will Aang and the others find what they're looking for in Ba Sing Se? Find out in the chapters to come…


	7. Spirits of the Earth

**In the Ba Sing Se inner ring…**

Appa landed gently on the ground outside the palace and then knelt down, allowing his riders to climb off.

"So that's what it's like to be suspended in midair." Mai said as she used Appa's tail as a ramp.

"So whaddya think about it?" Ty Lee asked.

"Not bad really. Comfy seat, great view…only negative is the occasional bug and wind in your face. But not bad." Mai replied with a shrug as they fell in step with the rest of the Avatar gang. Fortunately the guards recognized the Avatar and stood at attention with a proud smile on both their faces, allowing them all passage.

"Looks like your reputation precedes you." Sokka said as he playfully elbowed Aang in the ribs. Soon they entered the throne room and Aang instantly spotted something surprising.

"Hey do you notice what I notice?" Aang asked as everyone looked around curiously.

"What do you notice?" Katara asked curiously.

"No Dai Li agents." Mai answered.

"Oh...well there's that too. I was actually pointing to that." Aang said as he pointed to a stone pillar that was carved to look like himself. The one opposite his was of Avatar Kyoshi.

"Hey Aang, is the one on the right, you?" Toph asked curiously.

"Yep? Looks good right?" Aang asked before he realized it was Toph who had said it.

"Well if it looks anything like you then yes." Toph replied.

"Are you messing with our minds again Toph?" Sokka asked frustrated.

"For once, no. Remember I can see with my feet and that pillar is made of stone, so I know what it looks like. Oh and Aang…are you really bald?" Toph asked curiously as Aang rubbed his head instinctively.

"It's shaved not bald. There's a difference." Aang replied but Toph scoffed.

"Uh-huh sure there is." Toph replied sarcastically as they approached the Earth King sitting at his throne with his faithful pet bear, Bosco, at his side.

"Ah Avatar Aang how wonderful to see you again. I have been hoping you would return." King Kuei greeted.

"Greetings your majesty." Aang said as he and all of his companions gave a humble bow.

"I hope you bring good news from the outside world." Kuei said as Aang scratched his chin.

"Well unless you haven't heard that the war is over than I'm afraid I don't have any news…at all." Aang replied as Kuei shrugged with a smile.

"Oh well. As the old saying goes, No news is good news am I right? So what brings you here? Paying a visit to the Earth Kingdom Capitol and decided to drop in on an old friend?" Kuei asked.

"Well that and to ask your help with something." Aang said as he climbed up the steps to the King's throne with the map in hand.

"Oh? And what might I be able to help the Avatar with?" Kuei asked curiously.

"Have you heard of something called the Dao de Mian?" Aang asked as Kuei pondered.

"The name doesn't ring any bells. Is it some kind of store here in Ba Sing Se?" Kuei asked.

"No your majesty. It's an island that disappeared over a hundred years ago." Aang explained as Kuei sighed despairingly.

"I'm afraid in all my years as the Earth King, I've been too busy to pick up a history book that didn't have anything to do with Ba Sing Se itself. If it was from outside the walls, then I'm afraid that I don't know about it." Kuei replied as Aang and the team's heart sunk.

"Oh well…thanks anyway your majesty." Aang said despairingly as he turned to leave.

"We gave it our best shot Aang. Don't give up hope because of one road block." Katara comforted as Aang joined back up with them.

"I know. We just need to find someone who knew the happenings from outside the wall." Aang said as the group fell in step towards the door.

Suddenly Mai had an idea.

"Wait a minute." She said, causing the group to stop and turn towards her.

"What is it Mai?" Ty Lee asked curiously.

"Aang said we need someone who knew the happenings from outside the walls right? Well what about that guy Azula conned into staging a coup against the Earth King? What was his name?" Mai asked as Sokka scoffed.

"His name was Long Feng and there is no way would he help us." Sokka replied.

"It's the best lead we've had today Sokka. It's worth a try." Aang said as Sokka shrugged.

"Okay, fine just listen to the guy who kept Appa hidden away from us, kidnapped, then brainwashed, and most likely killed Jet, and probably just outright killed Smellerbee and Longshot, not to mention side with Azula to help her overthrow the Earth King. Does anyone besides me see how dumb this idea is?" Sokka asked as Aang sighed.

"As much as I want to agree with you Sokka, it's still our best lead all day. I say we ask the Earth King if he knows where Long Feng is." Aang said as he started heading back towards the throne with the rest of the group in tow. Sokka just sighed in defeat and followed along after them.

"Your majesty we may have a solution." Aang said as he approached the Earth King again.

"Oh?" Kuei asked curiously.

"This might sound a little crazy. Just giving ya fair warning." Sokka said before Aang continued.

"But we would like to speak with Long Feng if it's possible." Aang requested. Kuei was shocked to say the least but he was still pondering it.

"Hmm…Long Feng was locked back up in our prisons for his past crimes once the army of the White Lotus retook the city. Most, if not all of his Dai Li agents were discharged as to avoid another coup. However you may still go see him. I'll arrange it with the guards." Kuei said as Aang and the others bowed appreciatively.

"Thank you your majesty." Aang said as he stood up.

"I hope you find what you're looking for Avatar Aang." Kuei said as a guard approached the gang and led them off to the prisons.

* * *

**  
Meanwhile in the Fire Nation…**

Inside the brand new Avatar temple on the crescent island, Fire Sage Shyu knelt before a statue of Avatar Roku as he meditated. The temple had been rebuilt to look exactly the way it was before Roku destroyed it, complete with the ray of sunlight focused in from one side of the room. However the sunbeam was far from Roku's face at the moment.

As Shyu meditated he could feel the ground shake violently for a brief moment. Shyu opened his eyes in worry as he looked around. He then saw the statue of Avatar Roku was glowing yet again, but this time it was glowing with red energy. Shyu was terrified beyond words as he stared in horror of the glowing statue.

Suddenly the eyes on the Roku statue shot beams of glowing red energy into Shyu's own eyes for a brief moment before the glowing ceased and Shyu was knocked onto his back where he slid up to against the wall.

"Brother Shyu! What happened?! Are you alright?!" one of the other Fire Sages asked, having witnessed the spectacle, as he hurried to Shyu's side. Shyu remained unconscious for a moment before quickly grabbing the other Fire Sage by the collar and pulling him close.

"When does the next boat leave for the Capitol?!" Shyu asked in an urgent whisper.

"At dawn, why?" The Fire Sage asked confused.

"We need to get to the Capitol and warn the Fire Lord that there are plans set in motion that could both end his life and resume the war!" Shyu exclaimed as he climbed up.

"What?! Are you sure?!" the other Fire Sage asked confused.

"I had a vision from Avatar Roku himself! We must warn the Fire Lord before it's too late!" Shyu exclaimed as he hurried out with the other Fire Sage in tow.

* * *

**  
Back in Ba Sing Se…**

The gang was being led down to the dark prisons of the city, passing through the metal halls of the cell blocks.

"Why is there all this metal here?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Because we keep Earthbenders in here. They can't Earthbend with the metal walls, floors, and ceilings." The guard explained as he led them through to a single cell.

The guard then banged on the door with his fist.

"Hey you! You've got company!" the guard said to the prisoner inside. Soon the unkempt and grizzled visage of Long Feng appeared in the barred window of the cell door.

"Oh it's you Avatar. What do you want?" Long Feng grumbled.

"We're looking for something and you're the only person that can help us find it." Aang said as Long Feng scoffed.

"Please. Why would I help you? Were it not for you, I wouldn't be in here." Long Feng replied.

"We might be able to convince the King to let you go if you help us. So what do you say?" Aang asked as Long Feng disappeared from the window.

"Not interested." Long Feng replied stubbornly.

"Oh well, we tried." Sokka said as he turned to leave but Katara grabbed him by the collar, before he could walk away.

"There has to be something you want Long Feng. Tell me and I might be able to get it for you, in exchange for your help." Aang said. There was a pregnant pause before Long Feng returned to the window.

"Hmm…what I want, Avatar, is I want revenge on that cursed fire witch that tricked me and got me locked back up again!" Long Feng growled angrily.

"Azula's insane and was taken to a Fire Nation Insane Asylum after she was defeated. She's no longer an issue." Mai explained.

"Is she now? Well this changes everything. So much for that little bargaining chip." Long Feng grumbled.

"Perhaps there's something else you want. Something more doable." Aang suggested. Long Feng pondered for a moment before finally finding an answer.

"Very well then I'll settle for my freedom. But I won't help you until my freedom is assured." Long Feng said as Aang nodded.

"I'll work on it and get back to you then." Aang said.

"That won't be necessary Avatar." A familiar voice said from behind them. They all turned to see King Kuei standing behind them with a pair of guard escorts.

"Long Feng if you will help the Avatar, I will allow you to live freely in the city. But you will not be allowed beyond the outer wall of Ba Sing Se." Kuei said as Long Feng pondered.

"I'll settle for that then." Long Feng said as he redirected his attention back down at Aang, "So what sort of help do you need?"

"We're looking for a place where Avatar Roku might have come on some sort of Spirit quest. We need to know where he went." Aang explained as Long Feng pondered.

"According to local legend, Avatar Roku came to Ba Sing Se and disappeared beneath the city for some apparent reason. It's believed that he went down into the crystal catacombs under the city to an ancient temple devoted to the Earth Spirits. It's said to be a place of great spiritual power." Long Feng explained.

"The crystal catacombs! That's it!" Aang exclaimed.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Toph shouted as they all ran off out of the prison blocks.

…

A few minutes later they had entered the old crystal catacombs and were following the tunnels through to the ancient temple.

"This place sure gives me the creeps." Sokka said as they passed through into the area where Aang and Katara battled Azula and Zuko and their Dai Li allies. Aang also felt a twinge in the middle of his back where the scar from where Azula nearly killed him was.

"This is where I almost died Sokka. If it wasn't for Katara, I would be dead right now." Aang said, giving Katara an appreciative look.

"Well you're here now so I guess your injuries weren't that bad." Ty Lee commented.

"He got bulls eyed by Azula's lightning right in the back. He's lucky to be alive. He's even lucky to be standing." Mai replied as Ty Lee cringed.

"Ouch. I guess it was that bad." Ty Lee said apologetically.

"It's okay Ty Lee. I'm fine now." Aang said as they rounded a corner to see a beautiful and majestic temple adorned with crystals and with the statue of a badger mole sitting in front of it.

"Great, badger moles." Mai groaned.

"Really? Where?" Toph asked curiously.

"Relax Toph, it's just a statue." Katara said as they approached the temple.

"So I guess this is the place." Aang said as he walked up to the badger mole statue. He looked at the base to see a small inscription chiseled into the base. _"The Spirits know all."_

"Well here I go." Aang said as he sat down in a meditative position with the map opened up in his lap. Soon his tattoos started to glow along with his eyes.

"He's in." Sokka said as Mai looked around.

"So what do we do now?" she asked, bored.

"We just sit and wait. We can't move him when he's like this otherwise he can't find his way back here." Katara said as they all sat down to rest for a moment.

* * *

**  
In the Spirit World…**

Aang appeared within what appeared to be a Spirit world version of the Crystal Catacombs. He looked around and saw no one.

"Hello? Anybody here?!" Aang called out. He then heard a strange but frighteningly familiar sound coming from behind him. It was a skittering sound that one would hear when bugs were moving around…really big bugs that it. Aang instinctively shed all emotion from his face and turned around to see…

"Hello Aang. It's good to see you again." Koh the Face Stealer greeted in his typical oily tone.

"Koh. Why are you here? You are not the spirit I am looking for." Aang said as Koh chuckled.

"Am I not? Oh well. But I am here now so we might as well take a moment and…chat." Koh said as he switched to the face of Ummi, Avatar Kuruk's fiancée.

"Talk about what?" Aang asked.

"Oh I don't know. What about your search for the Dao de Mian? That seems like a worthy topic." Koh said as he started to slowly circle around Aang.

"I have nothing to say to you about that." Aang said calmly.

"Oh really? Then why would you be here following this map?" Koh asked with the face of a badger mole, and holding up the map, draped over one of his legs.

"I would like that back please." Aang said, holding out his arm.

"Do you? Well I have no reason to give this back." Koh said as he glared at Aang with the face of a shriveled old man.

"But you will give it back to him." An unfamiliar male voice commanded. Koh turned angrily to see a man in Earth Kingdom clothes but wearing an eerily familiar blue mask on his face. It was the mask of the Blue Spirit.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Koh hissed angrily as he turned towards the masked man.

"You know full well who I am, and I know what your weakness is, Koh. I have you at a disadvantage. Now give Aang his map back." The man said angrily through the mask. Koh hissed in annoyance and dropped the map in front of Aang before scurrying off into the shadows.

"It is alright now Aang. He's gone." The man said as he removed the Blue Spirit mask, revealing the man's true face. He had long brown hair with a topknot and a bushy beard that ran from his sideburns to his chin. His eyes were a sparkling green.

"Welcome, Aang, to the Spirit Temple of Ba Sing Se." the man said as Aang arched a confused eyebrow.

"Who are you?" Aang asked confused.

"I am Avatar Topham. I have been the spirit guardian for Ba Sing Se for over one thousand years. I was the last Earth Kingdom Avatar before Kyoshi. Avatar Roku however told me to expect you." The man introduced.

"How did you get angry at Koh without him stealing your face?" Aang asked curiously. Topham laughed.

"Hear this boy. Koh can only steal one's face when he can see their face. Face paint and masks thus make it impossible for Koh to see a person's face and he is powerless against those whose faces are hidden. It is why Avatar Kyoshi sits guard on Kyoshi Island still. It is because her face paint prevents Koh from taking her face or even touching her. Remember this advice Aang." Topham explained.

"Then why do you have Zuko's old Blue Spirit mask?" Aang asked confused.

"I'm not quite sure myself really. I found it here in the spirit world a while ago and I figured it would come in handy against Koh. I'm glad it didn't disappoint me." Topham said as Aang nodded in agreement.

"Me too. So how do I find the Dao de Mian?" Aang asked curiously.

"You have taken the first steps Aang. But be warned that every step you take from this point forward will take you deeper and deeper into a dark place. A place where earth and water thrive but all the air is trapped beneath. To reach it, you must learn to separate the water from the earth and bring the earth to the top before you can succeed. Remember this Aang for it is the key to uncovering the Dao de Mian." Topham said as Aang bowed appreciatively.

"Thank you Avatar Topham. I won't forget your advice." Aang said. The map then appeared in his hands. The golden glow around the green gem over Ba Sing Se then vanished along with the gem itself. Then the red gem over Ember Island started to glow golden and the map became more detailed, with the colors of the respective nations on their territories.

"For every Spirit Nexus like this one you travel to, the map will fill itself out even more, before it finally reveals the location of the Dao de Mian." Topham said as the map rolled itself up and returned to Aang's hand.

"Thank you again Avatar Topham…But do you think I can have that mask?" Aang asked as Topham smiled and chuckled before he handed Aang the Blue Spirit mask.

"Take it with my blessing Aang, and please just call me Topham…Topham Bei Fong." Topham said as Aang's eyes widened.

"Say WHAT?!?!" Aang asked in shock. But his question went unanswered as he returned to the living world.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 7.**

I own Topham.


	8. Agni Kai

**In the Crystal Catacombs…**

Aang emerged from his meditative trance to find the map rolled up in his hand along with the Blue Spirit mask.

"Aang! You're back!" Katara exclaimed as she collided into Aang with a hug.

"Welcome back Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she and the others approached.

"What happened in there? And where did you get that mask?" Sokka asked confused.

"I spoke with the Earth Kingdom Avatar before Kyoshi. He said his name was "Topham Bei Fong." Aang explained. All eyes immediately landed on Toph who was just as surprised as they were.

"Toph? Was one of your ancestors an Avatar?" Katara asked as Toph shrugged.

"It's possible. I mean my mom once told me that I was named after one of my dad's ancestors. The Bei Fong family is very old." Toph explained.

"Well no matter, Avatar Topham gave me some advice on how to defeat an evil spirit known as Koh the Face Stealer and how to find the Dao de Mian. Then the Fire Nation gem on the map started glowing and the map filled out more. Then he let me have this mask." Aang said as he unrolled the map and showed them the updates.

"So I guess we're going to Ember Island huh?" Mai asked.

"I haven't been there since Zuko, Azula, and the two of us went before that eclipse. Back when Azula was still…well she was never nice actually." Ty Lee said.

"And we haven't been there since we hid out in the Fire Lord's old beach house before the comet arrived." Sokka added.

"Plus you're forgetting that there's a beach there!" Toph exclaimed.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go to the beach!!!" Aang declared as he ran towards the tunnel with the others following close behind.

* * *

**  
Back in the Fire Nation…**

It was dawn as Zuko's aides prepared him for the Agni Kai that was to be held soon.

"When this General gets a scar like mine, he'll regret the day he challenged me." Zuko said as an aid put the gold flame shaped crest in Zuko's topknot.

…

At the same time however, Fire Sage Shyu and another Fire Sage hurried to board the boat that would take them to the Fire Nation Capital. The other sages, much to their surprise, were boarding the boat as well.

"Brother Shyu? What's the matter?" one of the other Fire Sages asked curiously.

"Avatar Roku showed me a vision! He said that someone was plotting against the Fire Lord to overthrow him and restart the war!" Shyu explained quickly.

"If that is so then we will be careful to warn the Fire Lord…however it will have to be later. The Fire Sages received summons to the Royal Palace again this morning to moderate an Agni Kai between Fire Lord Zuko and one of his Generals. Apparently this General is discontented with the Fire Lord's plans for the nation and the Fire Lord wishes to bring him to heel." The Sage explained.

"I fear by then it may be too late to warn him. This may be the very plot itself unfolding before our eyes!" Shyu argued.

"Don't be ridiculous brother Shyu. An Agni Kai with the Fire Lord is non-lethal. Besides, the Fire Lord is supposed to be the greatest Firebender in the whole Fire Nation; if he is defeated than the victor will become the new Fire Lord. That is why we moderate every Agni Kai with the Fire Lord." Another Fire Sage replied.

"But we cannot deny a vision from Avatar Roku! He is the Avatar we are the Fire Sages! We are supposed to serve the Avatar first and the Fire Lord second! I say we should try and convince Fire Lord Zuko to call off this Agni Kai!" Shyu argued.

"BROTHER SHYU!!! Enough of this nonsense! We cannot interfere with an Agni Kai no matter how much we want to or not!" the lead Fire Sage said as Shyu sighed in defeat and took his seat mere seconds before the boat started off towards the Fire Nation Capital in the distance.

* * *

**  
Later, before the Agni Kai…**

Zuko was in his chambers as he awaited the approaching battle. He then heard approaching footsteps coming from behind him. He turned to see a familiar face.

"Governor?" Zuko asked curiously. The approaching man was the former Fire Nation Governor of Omashu and he was Mai's father.

"Fire Lord Zuko." The Governor greeted as he bowed humbly, "I heard that you allowed Mai to travel to Ba Sing Se to speak with your Uncle regarding the Avatar. I figured that I should take the opportunity to wish you well in her absence."

"You've always treated me like your own son Governor. I appreciate the sentiment more than you know." Zuko said with a smile as he stood up and hugged the man who smiled back.

"You've always taken care of my daughter, even when you left to join the Avatar. I understood your reason for only leaving her a note and I tried to convince her to understand your reasoning for not saying goodbye in person…but fortunately she saw the truth anyway. I just hope that when she comes back, that the two of you would be together." The governor said as Zuko nodded.

"She wanted to go find out what she could about the Avatar for me so I wouldn't have to leave the Fire Nation. She cares about me almost as much as I care about her. I love her." Zuko said as the governor smiled.

"Then you know that she will love you no matter who or what you are. Good luck milord, I'll be cheering for you." The Governor said as he bowed and turned to leave. As he walked down the hall to the stadium, he was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled back around the corner.

"Governor, there is no reason to fear me." A man wearing a black cloak and hood whispered.

"Then why did you pull me back here?" the Governor asked in a whisper of his own. The cloaked man pulled back the hood and opened the cloak long enough to place a familiar red conical hat that designated him as one of the Fire Sages. It was Shyu.

"Forgive me Fire Sage. I was not aware that it was you." The Governor said as he dropped to his knees.

"Shush! Someone might here us. I came to warn the Fire Lord of a grave danger that awaits him when he enters that arena. There are plans that have been set in motion that once he enters the arena, cannot be stopped. It could do more than just bring danger to just the Fire Lord but to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes…and potentially the Fire Nation itself." Shyu whispered urgently.

"Are you sure of this?" the Governor asked worriedly.

"I received a vision from Avatar Roku himself! There is no denying its validity." Shyu whispered.

"Then what must I do?" the Governor asked.

"We must-." But before Shyu could answer the sound of the war drums were heard and the crowd in the arena started cheering. Shyu turned white as a sheet.

"Oh no…it's too late!" Shyu panicked as he and the Governor raced into the arena stands where they saw, standing in the center of the arena, was Fire Lord Zuko.

Zuko motioned for the crowd to be silent and they complied.

"Let the General who has outspoken his disapproval with me step forth and prepare to face my wrath!" Zuko shouted angrily. The doors on the opposite end of the arena proceeded to open and from them emerged a figure that made the entire arena, including Zuko, fall silent in shock.

It was Azul.

"General Azul! The Demon!" Shyu said in shock.

"I don't understand Fire Sage, why is General Azul a problem?" the Governor asked confused.

"Because he trained the Fire Lord's sister Azula in the Firebending arts and we both know how dangerous Azula was compared to her brother." Shyu whispered.

"What can we do?" the Governor asked worriedly.

"Nothing now, except pray that the Fire Lord somehow manages to defeat the Demon." Shyu replied as Zuko's shocked face switched to determination.

"So you baited me into this match?" Zuko asked as he shed his fighter's cloak.

"You do not have the best interests of the Fire Nation at heart milord. I am only staging this little coup of sorts to try and fix what you have been messing up. Please understand that this is nothing against you personally." Azul said as he too shed his cloak, revealing his heavily toned body. On his back was tattooed the Chinese characters for "Yao Mo" which literally meant "Demon."

"You're interests lie with starting the war up again! I won't allow it! Too many people have suffered and died because of that the war! Enough is enough!" Zuko replied.

"I'm afraid you do not grasp the point of it all. We have what the other nations do not. It was your ancestor, Fire Lord Sozin, and his vision to spread our greatness across the world. Would you defile your ancestor's vision for the future? Especially when the only nation we had left to conquer was the Water Tribes?! We were so close to achieving his vision but then the Avatar came in and stripped your father of his power and convinced you to end the war in the name of "maintaining the balance of the world." Azul argued.

"I don't care! Sozin's vision was wrong! He killed his best friend and my other great grandfather, Avatar Roku just to achieve a vision of oppression and murder! Everyone in the world has suffered from this war! Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Air Nomad, and even Fire Nation! I just want to rebuild what has been lost as best that I can!" Zuko replied as Azul sighed.

"Then it seems that you leave me no choice milord." Azul said as he entered a fighting stance. Zuko followed suit. A hush fell over the crowd as the two combatants started circling each other in their combat stances.

Azul then launched his hand forward, sending a lightning blast straight at Zuko. However Zuko quickly redirected the lightning back at Azul. Azul however redirected it back but with a second blast back towards Zuko.

Zuko dodged the first blast and redirected the second back at Azul. Like last time, Azul redirected the bolt back at Zuko, adding another bolt to the shot. Zuko quickly dodged the first and redirected the second up into the air. Azul then proceeded to hurl a massive blue fireball towards Zuko. Zuko however fired his own fireball back at Azul's, negating both attacks.

Azul then unleashed a steady stream of blue flames at Zuko, who countered with a stream of his own orange flames. The two's respective streams push against each other to no noticeable effect. However Zuko's strength was starting to wane as Azul's fire started to push even harder against Zuko's own. Azul's flames were gaining the upper hand as Zuko noticeably struggled to maintain his stream while Azul didn't even look tired.

Zuko then gave it all his might and the resulting blast, overtook Azul, knocking him into a skid on his feet across the floor. Azul recovered quickly and fired a lightning blast again but Zuko knew better than to try and redirect it back at Azul so he redirected it into the air like last time.

Zuko then smirked as he quickly started moving around in a half circle as if dancing, causing Azul to arch a confused eyebrow.

"This is an Agni Kai! Not a dance competition!" Azul growled before Zuko finished with both fists thrust forward towards Azul, sending a devastating and massive stream of fire towards the Demon. Azul quickly leapt out of the way of the attack, narrowly missing it.

"That may have looked like a dance, and it was. It's called the Dancing Dragon." Zuko said calmly as he delivered a flaming roundhouse kick which shot a fireball directly at Azul. Azul however simply raised his arm and literally caught the fireball in his hand.

"Demons tend to have more power than Dragons." Azul said before he raised the fireball up to his face and with a deep breath, blew into the fireball which spawned a spinning tornado of fire aimed directly at Zuko.

Zuko managed to leap out of the way but Azul had planned it perfectly and quickly shot a lightning bolt straight at Zuko. Zuko had no time to deflect it and the bolt struck him in his left side and sent him flying into the wall by the door he had entered from. At the same time, the Fire Lord crest was knocked from its place in Zuko's topknot and clattered against the floor towards the center of the arena.

The crowd fell silent in shock as Azul stepped forward and picked up the fallen crest. At the same time Shyu and the governor quickly and stealthily ran out of their seats. The other Fire Sages looked at each other in worry before the lead gulped and stood up.

"Fire Lord Zuko is defeated! All hail our NEW Fire Lord! All hail Fire Lord Azul!!!" the lead announced as Azul placed the crest in the top of his ponytail.

"As my first act as Fire Lord…I hereby declare WAR upon the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes! We will bring our greatness to the world by force in accordance of Lord Sozin's vision!" Azul shouted as half of the crowd cheered in celebration but half spoke amongst themselves in confusion.

"For my second act as Fire Lord…I hereby declare the Avatar and all those who travel with him to be enemies of the state and they are to be eliminated at all costs!" Azul declared as the cheerers cheered even louder and the rest spoke even softer.

"And finally to ensure my position as Fire Lord, I will eliminate the former Fire Lord here and now!" Azul declared as he proceeded to turn towards where he had seen Zuko hit the floor. But when he did, he saw no one there, and the doors slowly creaking closed.

"STOP HIM!!!" Azul ordered as a swarm of guards ran through the doors in search of the runaway ex-Fire Lord.

…

A few minutes later however, a Fire Nation yacht sailed away from the Capitol and out the gates of Azulon with only a small handful of people on board. On board, Fire Sage Shyu tended to the wounds of a gravely injured Zuko. At the helm stood the Governor as he sailed the yacht away from the Capitol. The governor's wife and their toddler son, Tom-Tom, were sitting quietly on the bow below him.

"Can you save him Fire Sage Shyu? Will he be alright?" the Governor asked as Shyu sighed.

"I'm not sure Governor. His wound is great and I lack the ability to heal him completely. The only way is if he were taken to a healer who won't turn on us and try to turn him in for whatever reward Azul will have posted on him." Shyu said as the Governor pondered.

"Maybe if we took him to the last place anyone would look in the Fire Nation. Somewhere that Azul wouldn't even think of." The Governor suggested.

"Like where?" Shyu asked curiously as the Governor turned the wheel slightly before turning towards Shyu and replying…

"Ember Island."

* * *

**  
Meanwhile over Ba Sing Se…**

Appa was flying eastwards, towards the morning sun with his passengers resting comfortably in the saddle.

"Tell me again why we're going at this time in morning?" Toph asked grumpily.

"Because that way we can get to Ember Island by noon and then we can enjoy the surf, the sunset, and everything great about the beach!" Sokka explained excitedly.

"Just so you know, don't expect to be able to use Zuko's father's beach house again. Zuko's having it refurbished." Mai said with a yawn.

"So, we won't need his beach house because we're not trying to lay low from the Fire Nation this time. We can simply get a few rooms at the inn." Sokka replied.

"Or maybe we can stay with Li and Lo again." Ty Lee pondered.

"Who?" Katara asked curiously.

"Ugh, two old twin women. They were kinda like Azula's advisors. But they chose to retire after Zuko became Fire Lord. Their home smells like old lady and the bed spreads looks like the beach threw up on them." Mai grumbled as she attempted to fall asleep.

"Are you sure they're not going to try and kill us out of spite?" Sokka asked as Mai shook her head without opening her eyes.

"No. They left on good terms with Zuko. I was there when they requested to retire. They said that Zuko and I would always be welcome in their home on Ember Island…not that I'm overly eager to go back to their place." Mai grumbled again before rolling over onto her side to try and get to sleep again.

"I still brought my old Fire Nation clothes anyway. I kinda liked 'em." Katara said as she held up the red silk dress and accessories she had from when they had infiltrated the Fire Nation. Aang whirled around from his place atop Appa's head to see if Katara indeed had the garment in question, and blushed as he remembered what Katara looked like in it.

"I get the feeling Aang liked 'em too." Toph said with a smirk. Aang however quickly whirled back around to face forward.

"So what if he does? I still think he looks better with hair and that headband." Katara replied as Toph arched an eyebrow.

"Wait…Aang had hair?" Toph asked confused, causing a moment of laughter between the team as they flew into the sunrise on the horizon.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 8.**

What will happen on Ember Island? What will happen with Azul as Fire Lord? What will become of the world?


	9. Ember Island Part 1

**Over Ember Island…**

"There it is! Ember Island!" Aang shouted as the whole gang looked down to see the island below them. Appa then turned and began his descent towards the ground. As soon as Appa touched the ground, Sokka was the first one to get off and he did so with enthusiastic fervor.

"Beach! Oh hello there my sandy friend!" Sokka said as he hugged a large clump of sand.

"Has he been hitting the cactus juice again?" Toph asked.

"Not sure." Katara replied with a shrug.

"Sokka, you do realize that Kyoshi Island has a beach too don't ya?" Aang asked as Sokka immediately stood back up with an authoritative expression on his face.

"Okay, number one; that is true, number two; while that is true, Kyoshi Island also happens to have a giant man eating sea monster. Need I go on?" Sokka asked as the group shook their heads in unison.

"Well then I guess we should go find the local inn." Katara said as they headed off down the beach with Appa following behind. A moment later they spotted a comparatively small house on the beach that both Mai and Ty Lee recognized right off.

"Oh look! There's Lo and Li's place!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

"Perhaps they can help us find the inn or maybe even the Spirit nexus where I can find the next clue to the Dao de Mian." Aang suggested as Katara nodded.

"It's worth a shot." Katara said as Mai sighed in unspoken defeat as they headed down towards the small house.

"Let Mai and I do the introductions." Ty Lee said as they reached the front door. She then knocked gingerly on the door before standing straight up with a huge cheesy grin on her face. Soon the door was answered by one of the old twins.

"Oh well goodness me. Mai, Ty Lee, what brings the two of you here? And who are your friends?" the twin asked.

"We're here on a mystical quest with the Avatar." Ty Lee said as she moved out of the way and pointed to Aang who smiled and waved innocently.

"Oh my, the Avatar! Why he's even more darling than those old wanted posters described him. Please come on in kids." The twin said as she stepped out of the way, letting the youngsters in.

"Li! Oh Li! We have guests!" the twin called out and soon her sister emerged from one of the side rooms in an outfit, matching that of her twin.

"Ah Ty Lee, Mai, welcome back to Ember Island." Li greeted with a smile.

"Thanks." Ty Lee replied as Toph sniffed the air.

"Is it just me or does it smell like old lady in here?" she asked curiously.

"I warned you." Mai mumbled.

"Allow me to introduce you both to…the Avatar." Ty Lee said as she pulled Aang out in front of her.

"Oh why aren't you just the cutest little thing." Li said as she grabbed Aang by the cheek and Lo followed suit.

"Isn't he just precious?" Lo fawned as Aang smiled helplessly as Katara and Sokka snickered amidst the twins fawning.

"Uh hi, I'm Aang." Aang said through his teeth.

"Uh hi, I'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka." Katara introduced and almost immediately the twins released Aang and moved over to the other two newcomers. Aang breathed a sigh of freedom at this.

"Why aren't you just a beautiful little thing? I can tell by your clothes that you're both water tribe." Lo said as Katara nodded appreciatively.

"Yes ma'am." She replied respectfully.

"And now who's this little fella?" Li asked in reference to Momo who was scampering around on Sokka's back.

"Fella?! I'm a girl!" Toph said, assuming they were referring to her.

"Actually Momo here is a flying lemur and Toph, like she said, is a girl…sort of." Sokka answered, causing Toph to blush in embarrassment.

"Someone just kill me now." She mumbled.

"You'll have to forgive Toph, she's blind." Katara whispered to the twins.

"She also has good ears, Sugar Queen!" Toph grumbled.

"Well then allow us to be the first to welcome you to Ember Island. Have you been here before?" the twins asked in unison.

"Yes, we've all been here before." Aang replied as the twins smiled.

"Excellent." Lo said.

"Then you should know you're way around the island." Li added.

"But we can always help you out." they said in unison.

"Well we could use some help finding the inn." Katara said as the twins clapped their hands, snapped their fingers, and then pointing into the air proclaimed in unison…

"To the inn!"

…

The gang was walking through the town portion of the island when Toph noticed something peculiar.

"Are we the only ones here or have my feet gone blind too?" Toph asked confused.

"She's right, there's no one here but us." Aang said as they looked around. Sure enough there was hardly a soul in sight.

"It's the off season here on Ember Island. Most folks don't come until the winter or the summer seasons." Lo explained.

"So I guess we won't need any sort of disguises at all will we?" Sokka asked as Katara arched a confused eyebrow.

"Why would we anyway Sokka? We're friends of the Fire Lord and besides there's no need to hide since there's not a war on." Katara replied.

"But you're still going to wear the red dress right?" Aang asked eagerly. Katara blushed appreciatively.

"Why of course Aang. In this weather it would be a good idea." Katara said, motioning to the hot sun above.

"Yeah now that you mention it, my Earth Kingdom clothes are pretty warm around here." Toph said.

"Good thing the shops are still open in the off season." Sokka said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"There are always the odd vacationers here on Ember Island even in the off season." Li explained.

"So the shops remain open." Lo added.

"So I guess we could go do some shopping then." Katara said as Ty Lee clapped her hands excitedly.

"OOH SHOPPING!!!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she threw her arms around Mai and a bewildered Toph.

"Gee I'm so excited." Mai grumbled sarcastically.

"I tell you what. I'll go on ahead with Li to the inn and get our rooms. You guys can go on ahead to go do some shopping. We'll join you when we can." Katara said. The gang however had vanished in a cloud of dust, leaving Katara and a confused Lo behind.

* * *

**  
Meanwhile back in the Fire Nation Capitol…**

Newly crowned, Fire Lord Azul, sat at his throne having effortlessly knocked away the added chair intended for Mai. He sat listening to the war council with intrigue as they discussed redeployment plans for the Fire Nation military. Curiously however, only two thirds of the war council had showed up to the meeting.

"It will take some time for our modifications to the airships to be reversed and have them ready for combat. And our construction efforts for building new airships have been redoubled." The air general explained.

"Excellent. Make sure they're ready. I want our forces to be ready to begin travel to the south as soon as possible." Azul ordered.

"The South milord?" the Air general asked curiously.

"We are going to resume our conquest of the world with the conquest of the Water Tribes. We will hunt down and imprison every Waterbender and Water Tribesman in the North and South Poles. Because once we capture and kill the Avatar in retaliation for his crimes in sapping Phoenix King Ozai of his power, the Avatar will then be reborn into the Water Tribes. If the Water Tribes are under our control and all the Waterbenders are either imprisoned or dead then the Avatar cycle will officially end and then there will be nothing left to stop us from conquering the rest of the world in the name of the Fire Nation." Azul explained.

"But milord, even with Sozin's comet enhancing his power, "Phoenix King" Ozai still couldn't defeat the Avatar. What do we have that can give us an edge over the Avatar now?" another General asked.

"You dare question me?" Azul asked menacingly but the General trembled in silence.

"Milord there is still the matter of what happened to your predecessor. Fire Lord Zuko. Neither he nor his body has been found. He seems to have just…vanished. Unless he is found and killed then we could have a potential problem on our hands." One of Azul's loyal generals commented.

"Such as?" Azul asked in annoyance.

"When you were declared the Fire Lord, only half the people in the arena celebrated. And according to our sources half of the people support you while the rest supported Zuko." The loyalist general reported.

Azul's eyes narrowed at this and the row of blue flames before him rose in height.

"I am the Fire Lord now! What I say is the law! They will bow before me or they will BURN!" Azul roared in anger as the Generals looked at each other in worry. Some of them were beginning to reconsider siding with Azul in the first place.

* * *

**  
Back on Ember Island…**

Aang and Sokka walked out of a men's shop wearing practically the exact same thing they wore when they infiltrated the Fire Nation, only Aang had a small red square shaped hat on his head to keep his shaved head cool.

"You know it's kinda funny that we're wearing the same stuff we did last time." Aang commented.

"What does it tell you this stuff was in the bargain bin?" Sokka asked.

"Well we did kinda get a good deal on our clothes the last time." Aang replied.

"Oh yeah. Five finger discount." Sokka replied as Mai, Ty Lee, Lo, and Toph approached. Toph also looked exactly the same as she had before, complete with the soulless shoes.

"So?" Toph asked curiously in reference to her outfit.

"It looks just like your old Fire Nation disguise." Sokka replied.

"Thanks yours do to." Toph said with a smirk.

"I knew it! The bargain bin isn't…why must you do that to me Toph?" Sokka asked fretfully as Toph shrugged and Mai snickered.

"You know these clothes kinda smell familiar too." Aang said as he took a whiff of his uniform.

"Yeah now that you mention it they do kinda smell and feel familiar." Toph said.

"What would the odds be that we all just bought our old disguises?" Sokka asked as Aang quickly checked the inside collar of Sokka's jacket. He blinked in surprise upon seeing Sokka's name written onto the tag.

"Sokka! It is our old disguises!" Aang exclaimed as he quickly fished in his pocket and produced the old red bandana he used to wear to hide his arrow tattoo.

"How did they get them?!" Sokka asked confused.

"They probably were given to the stores when the Fire Nation workers began refurbishing Zuko's old Beach house." Mai theorized.

"So you mean we just paid for our own stuff?!" Toph asked as Mai shrugged and Katara and Li finally arrived. Katara had also changed into her old Fire Nation disguise except she still wore her grandmother's old necklace.

"Wow déjà vu all over again. You guys look very…familiar." Katara commented as she approached.

"Thanks. So did the inn have any rooms for us?" Sokka asked as Katara shook her head.

"I'm afraid the Inn was full of workers that are working on the Fire Lord's beach house. But Li had an idea." Katara said as she turned to Li.

"You can all come and stay at Lo's and my place while you're here." Li explained.

"Well I guess we've got nowhere else to go." Sokka commented as Lo and Li then began to lead them back to their house.

…

The sun was setting as the gang all settled into Lo & Li's small house.

"I officially hate beach houses!" Toph grumbled as she crashed into a wall for the fifth time that evening.

"Oh come on Toph, it can't be all that bad." Katara said as she helped the twins prepare the table for dinner.

"You try getting Mai to pull the splinters from your feet because she's the only one with a steady enough hand!" Toph grumbled as she pointed to her now bandaged feet.

"Where are you getting splinters in the first place?" Sokka asked curiously as Toph groaned.

"The floor is made of wood Sokka! You tell me!" Toph replied. Suddenly they heard shouting from upstairs…

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HEAD!?!?!" Aang shouted.

"What was that?" Sokka asked confused.

"Uh I think Aang just had a bit of a cosmetics accident." Ty Lee said as she suddenly appeared dangling upside down from the staircase. Katara quickly darted up the stairs to see Aang wearing only his shorts and with a head full of brown curly hair. Mai was standing off to the side, turning blue as she attempted to hold in her laughter.

"Aang what did you do?!" Katara asked in shock. (And amusement).

"I thought I was putting shaving cream on my head so I could give it a trim but when I put this on my head, it suddenly sprouted hair." Aang said as Katara grabbed the bottle and started giggling.

"Aang this isn't shaving cream, this is Fire Nation brand hair tonic!" Katara giggled.

"How does it work that fast?!" Aang asked confused.

"Hello?! Fire Nation?! Home of the Firebenders?! Firebenders who tend to scorch their own eyebrows off by accident?!" Ty Lee explained as Sokka popped up.

"Okay we get why the Fire Nation produces the most potent hair tonic in the world…so will someone tell me why a couple of old ladies have it?" Sokka asked as the whole group fell silent. Just then Momo appeared wearing a large sagging wad of white hair on his head. They then heard one of the twins exclaim.

"What happened to my hair?!"

The room quickly descended into laughter after that.

…

It was finally dinner time and the group had gathered around the dinner table.

"So what brings you all here to Ember Island? I remember Ty Lee mentioning that you were on some form of quest, young Avatar." Lo said as Aang nodded his fuzzy head. He had decided to leave the hair since he remembered Katara commenting that she thought he looked better with hair earlier.

"Yes Ma'am. We're looking for something called a Spirit Nexus that's supposed to be hidden somewhere here on Ember Island." Aang explained.

"A spirit nexus you say? Hmm…the most sacred site on all of Ember Island is the Ember Island hot springs. They're connected to a small number of geysers and they're great for a nice soothing dip." Li explained.

"Do you know if Avatar Roku ever went there?" Katara asked curiously.

"Well there is a life sized statue of him and one of Avatar Ember near the hot springs." Lo explained.

"I'm sorry but, who's Avatar Ember?" Sokka asked.

"He was the last Fire Nation Avatar before Roku." Li explained.

"Ember Island is named in his honor." Lo added.

"And it is also his final resting place." The twins explained in unison.

"So that means that tomorrow I'll go and commune with the spirits and see what the next clue is." Aang said with a smile.

"Yeah but not before we get some quality beach time." Sokka said as Aang smirked.

"Well a little vacation never hurt anyone." Aang commented as Sokka celebrated.

"YES!!!" Sokka cheered, "Ain't nothing's gonna rain on our parade!"

Suddenly they heard a frantic pounding at the door.

"I wonder who that could be at this time of day." Lo and Li said in unison as they headed for the door. They cracked it open a little to see through outside before opening it up all the way.

"Thank goodness you're home! We need help! Fire Lord Zuko needs help!" a man dressed in Fire Sage robes pleaded as he and another man helped the limp yet familiar form of a young teenaged Fire Lord inside. It was Mai's parents and brother along with Shyu, and Mai's father and Shyu were carrying in the wounded Zuko.

"Fate just loves proving me wrong doesn't it?" Sokka moaned as the gang looked on in horror.

* * *

**  
End Chapter 9**

Will Zuko survive? Find out in the next chapter…


	10. Ember Island Part 2

**When we last left our heroes…**

It was finally dinner time and the group had gathered around the dinner table.

"So what brings you all here to Ember Island? I remember Ty Lee mentioning that you were on some form of quest, young Avatar." Lo said as Aang nodded his fuzzy head. He had decided to leave the hair since he remembered Katara commenting that she thought he looked better with hair earlier.

"Yes Ma'am. We're looking for something called a Spirit Nexus that's supposed to be hidden somewhere here on Ember Island." Aang explained.

"A spirit nexus you say? Hmm…the most sacred site on all of Ember Island is the Ember Island hot springs. They're connected to a small number of geysers and they're great for a nice soothing dip." Li explained.

"Do you know if Avatar Roku ever went there?" Katara asked curiously.

"Well there is a life sized statue of him and one of Avatar Ember near the hot springs." Lo explained.

"I'm sorry but, who's Avatar Ember?" Sokka asked.

"He was the last Fire Nation Avatar before Roku." Li explained.

"Ember Island is named in his honor." Lo added.

"And it is also his final resting place." The twins explained in unison.

"So that means that tomorrow I'll go and commune with the spirits and see what the next clue is." Aang said with a smile.

"Yeah but not before we get some quality beach time." Sokka said as Aang smirked.

"Well a little vacation never hurt anyone." Aang commented as Sokka celebrated.

"YES!!!" Sokka cheered, "Ain't nothing's gonna rain on our parade!"

Suddenly they heard a frantic pounding at the door.

"I wonder who that could be at this time of day." Lo and Li said in unison as they headed for the door. They cracked it open a little to see through outside before opening it up all the way.

"Thank goodness you're home! We need help! Fire Lord Zuko needs help!" a man dressed in Fire Sage robes pleaded as he and another man helped the limp yet familiar form of a young teenaged Fire Lord inside. It was Mai's parents and brother along with Shyu, and Mai's father and Shyu were carrying in the wounded Zuko.

"Fate just loves proving me wrong doesn't it?" Sokka moaned as the gang looked on in horror.

"ZUKO!!!" Mai shouted as she quickly hurried over to the injured Zuko.

"Mai?! Thank Agni you're alright!" Mai's father said as he saw his daughter rush over to Zuko's side while they laid him out on one of the beds.

"What happened to him?!" Mai asked tearfully.

"He lost an Agni Kai for the throne. He's been dethroned as the Fire Lord." Shyu explained.

"His injuries are severe. We need a doctor and fast!" Mai's father added.

"I can help!" Katara exclaimed as she hurried into the room and Waterbended the water from a bowl that Lo had brought out to heal his injuries. She removed the bandage that Shyu had placed over it and cringed as she saw the hideous splotch in his side that matched the scar on Aang's back. She quickly recovered and started healing the wound at his side.

"Who are you?" Mai's father asked confused.

"My name is Katara. I'm a Waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. I'm here with the Avatar." Katara said as Aang and the rest of the gang slowly entered.

"The Avatar! Oh thank Agni. You must leave as soon as you can!" Mai's father said to Aang.

"Why? What's wrong?" Aang asked confused.

"The new Fire Lord has sworn to resume the war and has declared you and your companions as enemies of the state!" Mai's father explained quickly.

"WHAT?!?!" Aang asked in shock.

"We just won the war a month ago! He can't just go and resume what's been finished!" Sokka replied in outrage.

"You only won a strategic victory not a total victory. You didn't wipe out the entire Fire Nation military only its leaders and replaced them with one sympathetic to your cause. Don't get me wrong, I'm on your side. I am loyal only to Fire Lord Zuko, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now." Mai's father explained.

"Haven't we met before?" Aang asked.

"I believe we have actually. I was once the provincial governor of the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. I'm also Mai's father. My name is Tau and this is my wife Ella. This is our son Tom-Tom. You know Mai already." Mai's father explained.

"Oh so that's where I know you from. You were the guy who was in control of Bumi's city." Aang said as Tau nodded.

"Yes that was me. But Zuko had me reassigned to his royal staff in the capitol so we could be closer to Mai." Tau replied.

"Dad?" Mai asked as she sat close to Zuko's unconscious form, "Who did this to him?"

"A disapproving General named Azul. He's known as the Demon to many for his Firebending skill and his fearsome presence on the battlefield. He was General Iroh's second in command during the siege of Ba Sing Se." Tau explained as tears streamed down Mai's eyes. Ty Lee however shifted her eyes nervously before putting a hand over her eyes and crying in silence.

"So…What do we do now?" Aang asked confused.

"We must get you out of here Avatar. You must conclude whatever business you have here and leave as soon as you can so that you may prepare the world for another conflict. I fear that the Earth Kingdom is breathing a sigh of relief believing the war is over. They won't be expecting the Fire Nation to attack without warning. It will be catastrophic." Tau explained.

"I can't leave yet. I'm trying to find something called the Dao de Mian and I still need to visit the Spirit Nexus here on Ember Island to get the next clue to finding it." Aang said as Shyu thought of something.

"We may still have time for him to accomplish his goal here and be on his way. It usually takes two days for word to spread through the Fire Nation that a new Fire Lord has taken power, and a few weeks after that for the military to be assembled then a few days to deploy it. I believe you have about a month before things turn bad again." Shyu said as Aang nodded in agreement.

"I should probably start wearing a disguise again anyway." Aang said as he wrapped the red headband around his forehead. Katara then finished using her healing powers on Zuko.

"I've done all I can. It's up to Zuko now to recover on his own." Katara said as Mai grasped Zuko's hand.

"I'll stay here with him." Mai said as her mother put a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be alright, so long as you're here with him Mai." Ella said as Mai remained silent.

"I guess this means we're back on the run again." Sokka said with a sigh.

"Looks like." Toph grumbled.

"I'm going to go see if I can go find the Spirit Nexus right now so we can leave first thing tomorrow." Aang said as he turned to leave, but Sokka stopped him.

"Aang at a moment like this we need to stick together. We have tomorrow to check it out; we just need to stay in disguise. (Sigh) We can check it out in the morning." Sokka said as Aang nodded in agreement.

"Okay Sokka, we'll wait till tomorrow but we still need to hide Appa." Aang said as Lo and Li reappeared with a large dark gray tarp.

"Here use this to hide your Sky Bison." The twins said in unison.

"Thank you." Aang said with a bow before he gratefully took the tarp and headed outside with Momo to hide the bison.

"So I guess all we've got left to do now is wait. Hopefully Zuko will wake up by tomorrow." Katara said as the others nodded.

* * *

**In the morning…**

Mai had fallen asleep curled up next to the bed, while holding Zuko's hand and most of the others had fallen asleep in their sleeping bags which were scattered around the room.

Toph was the first to awaken. She then (unintentionally) woke everyone up by stubbing her toe on a stair step.

"OW! Lousy, stinking, wood floor!" Toph grumbled as she hopped around on one foot.

"I don't remember leaving a wake up scream." Sokka mumbled.

"Keep it down. Some of us are still trying to sleep." Mai grumbled.

"Come on Toph let's go outside where there's sand that you can see on." Aang said as he wrapped the headband around his forehead, having taken it off before going to sleep.

"Remember Aang, we have to keep a low profile so don't go and let your tattoos show or anything." Katara said as Aang nodded.

"Hang on I'm coming too." Sokka groaned as he clamored up out of his sleeping bag, "Better chance of finding some decent breakfast meat."

"Katara you want to come too?" Aang asked as Katara sighed.

"I better stay here to make sure Zuko's okay. You guys go on ahead without me." Katara said as Aang nodded understandingly.

"Okay then." Aang said with Momo on his shoulder as they headed outside, leaving Mai, Katara, and Ty Lee behind to stay with Zuko.

**…**

"So what's the plan now oh "grand schedule keeper?"" Toph asked Sokka sarcastically who yawned and shrugged simultaneously.

"I don't know. I didn't plan on any of this so I was just going with the flow." Sokka replied.

"I can't believe this is happening again. I guess I can just Energybend the new Fire Lord like I did Ozai." Aang said as they continued on down the beach.

"Yeah that's true. You can just sneak in and just sap the Firebending from the guy like last time." Sokka said.

"Yeah but Aang, do you really want to go after him first or do you want to find your people?" Toph asked.

"The Dao de Mian has been hidden for at least a hundred years; it can wait a little longer. But for now, since we're here we might as well get the next clue." Aang replied as they entered the town area.

"Where did Lo and Li say the nexus was again?" Sokka asked as he scratched his chin.

"They said that it was in the Ember Island Hot Springs." Toph replied.

"Yeah but where is it?" Aang asked.

"Hey maybe we can ask that guy." Sokka suggested as he pointed to a man in Fire Nation robes.

"Excuse me!" Aang shouted to the man who stopped and turned curiously towards him.

"Yes? May I help you?" the man asked.

"Yes sir, can you tell us where the Ember Island Hot Springs are?" Aang asked.

"Oh the Hot springs eh? Well they're over there at the base of those jagged hills but you won't be able to get near them for a while." The man replied.

"Why not?" Sokka asked confused.

"Because they've been reserved for the workers for Fire Lord Zuko's beach house renovation. There's probably no way to get in while they're here and they're not expected to be finished until next month at the earliest." The man replied as the kids hearts sank.

"Oh. Thanks anyway." Aang said as he lowered his head in sadness.

"I'm sorry if I just dashed your hopes young one. But hopefully you'll manage to find happiness elsewhere while you're here. I hear the Ember Island players are doing a revised version of "The Boy in the Iceberg." The man suggested with a comforting smile.

"Revised version?" Sokka asked curiously.

"Yes. Fire Lord Zuko called the playwright to the Capitol and scolded him for his inaccurate portrayal of the Avatar and his companions. The revised version now shows only the truth. Fire Lord Zuko gave it his official seal of approval even." The man said as Toph blinked in disbelief.

"Uh just out of curiosity, did the character Toph get changed at all?" Toph asked curiously.

"Well Toph was changed from some burly guy to a small blind girl who could see through her feet. Quite a little spitfire too. Well I better be moving along. Sorry about the hot springs." The man said as he bowed then turned and walked away. Toph silently groaned.

"He just had to change it didn't he?! I said I liked my portrayal!" Toph groaned.

"That's not important right now; we've got to find a way to get into the hot springs!" Aang said as they started heading back towards Lo and Li's house.

"But how? They've probably got it guarded." Sokka said.

"Yeah and we all know how we have to keep a low profile again." Toph added.

"If only we knew someone who could get us in." Aang sighed with his head drooped down. Just then he crashed into something, or more appropriately someone, knocking them both to the ground.

"Nice going Twinkle Toes." Toph said sarcastically with a smirk.

"Oh I'm so sorry I-…Kuzon?!" the person, a young Fire Nation girl, asked surprised. Aang recognized her instantly.

"On Ji?! What are you doing here?!" Aang/Kuzon asked confused.

"Probably the same as you. I'm on vacation." On Ji replied with a smile.

"Hey Kuzon who's your friend?" Toph asked as she punched him in the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh this is On Ji. I attended the same school as her for a couple days before getting thrown out." Aang/Kuzon introduced.

"Oh yeah that illegal dance party thing." Sokka said as he remembered where he had seen her before.

"Yeah, thanks to you we finally got dancing in our school. A whole bunch of parents came out and demanded that the headmaster allow dancing at the school." On Ji said with a smile.

"Really?" Aang/Kuzon asked surprised.

"Yeah, and the Fire Lord declared that Schools would allow dances in the future because they helped free our imaginations or something like that." On Ji explained.

"Wow. It's good to know I did something good at your school." Aang/Kuzon replied with a smile that slowly vanished as the memory of the off limits hot springs floated back into his mind.

"What's wrong Kuzon?" On Ji asked worriedly.

"You'll have to forgive our friend. He was really looking forward to going to the hot springs here but they're off limits for at least a month." Sokka explained.

"The hot springs? Well I think I might be able to help you with that actually." On Ji said as she looked thoughtful. Aang and the others looked at her surprised.

"Really?! How?!" Aang/Kuzon asked.

"Well my dad is the foreman in charge of the renovations to the Fire Lord's beach house and my birthday happens to be tomorrow, but my parents suggested that I celebrate early so I'm having my party at the hot springs tonight. You can come along if you want. I do owe you for bringing dancing to my school and all the other Fire Nation schools so consider it my way of saying thanks." On Ji said as Aang/Kuzon and the others looked excited.

"A Party?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Tonight?!" Toph exclaimed as well.

"At the Hot Springs?!" Aang/Kuzon exclaimed.

"We'll be there!" Sokka said excitedly.

"Great. I'll see you tonight at sun down." On Ji said with a smile as she ran off.

"Boys, I think we're in." Toph said with a grin as she put her arms around the two's shoulders.

**…**

"You're going to a what?!" Katara asked surprised. They were back in Lo & Li's house.

"We're going to On Ji's birthday party. It's the only way to get into the Hot Springs." Aang said as he, Sokka, and Toph finished explaining what had just transpired.

"That's great Aang but are you sure a party is the best way to get in? I mean you have to enter the spirit world and you can't do that in the middle of a party of Fire Nation people." Katara said as Aang's face fell in horrified realization.

"Oh you're right. I can't let them see me do that. There has to be some way of doing it without On Ji or anyone knowing." Aang said.

"But how can we do that?" Mai asked. There was a long silent pause as everyone thought hard.

"I know of a way." A familiar voice said, that caused everyone to freeze then turn quickly towards Zuko's bunk to see said deposed Fire Lord awake and sitting up.

"Zuko! You're awake!" Mai exclaimed as she quickly planted a kiss on his lips.

"Thank you Mai." Zuko said before he struggled to stand up. His knees buckled a couple of times but he finally managed to stand on his own.

"There is a way for you to enter the Avatar state in the Hot Springs without being noticed. It's in a place known as Lovers Alcove." Zuko explained.

"Lover's Alcove? What's that?" Katara asked curiously.

"Oh the Lover's Alcove?" Lo asked in surprise.

"The Lover's Alcove is a hole in the rock wall around the hot springs. It is said that when two people are meant to be together and they enter the Alcove that their destiny's are intertwined." Li explained.

"It's hidden behind the statue of Avatar Ember." Zuko added.

"And you know about it…how?" Sokka asked interrogatively. Zuko and Mai glanced at each other silently, both blushing and looking innocent.

"I stumbled upon it once." Zuko replied.

"Sure you did." Sokka prodded knowingly.

* * *

**End Chapter 10.**

I made up the Governor's and his wife's names so don't consider the names canon. I don't own the Governor nor his wife. Oh and in case you're wondering, Zuko's in his Book 3, Team Avatar attire.


	11. PARTY!

"You're going to a what?!" Katara asked surprised.

"We're going to On Ji's birthday party. It's the only way to get into the Hot Springs." Aang said as he, Sokka, and Toph finished explaining what had just transpired.

"That's great Aang but are you sure a party is the best way to get in? I mean you have to enter the spirit world and you can't do that in the middle of a party of Fire Nation people." Katara said as Aang's face fell in horrified realization.

"Oh you're right. I can't let them see me do that. There has to be some way of doing it without On Ji or anyone knowing." Aang said.

"But how can we do that?" Mai asked. There was a long silent pause as everyone thought hard.

"I know of a way." A familiar voice said, that caused everyone to freeze then turn quickly towards Zuko's bunk to see said deposed Fire Lord awake and sitting up.

"Zuko! You're awake!" Mai exclaimed as she quickly planted a kiss on his lips.

"Thank you Mai." Zuko said before he struggled to stand up. His knees buckled a couple of times but he finally managed to stand on his own.

"There is a way for you to enter the Avatar state in the Hot Springs without being noticed. It's in a place known as Lovers Alcove." Zuko explained.

"Lover's Alcove? What's that?" Katara asked curiously.

"Oh the Lover's Alcove?" Lo asked in surprise.

"The Lover's Alcove is a hole in the rock wall around the hot springs. It is said that when two people are meant to be together and they enter the Alcove that their destiny's are intertwined." Li explained.

"It's hidden behind the statue of Avatar Ember." Zuko added.

"And you know about it…how?" Sokka asked interrogatively. Zuko and Mai glanced at each other silently, both blushing and looking innocent.

"I stumbled upon it once." Zuko replied.

"Sure you did." Sokka prodded knowingly.

"Is it secluded?" Katara asked.

"There's a lot of tall grass that covers the entrance." Zuko replied.

"But what's to stop someone from looking inside?" Aang asked.

"I think I might have a solution to that actually." Katara said bashfully.

"What is it Katara?" Aang asked curiously.

"Well, since it's called Lover's Alcove, then perhaps if I went in there with you? You know in case someone tries to sneak in while you're in the Avatar State?" Katara suggested as both she and Aang blushed furiously.

"Oh yeah there's going to be some betrothal necklace carving, without a doubt." Sokka whispered as he nudged Toph with his elbow.

"So Zuko, you going with us?" Aang asked as Zuko shook his head.

"No, I can't. My scar is too recognizable. I can't go out in public so long as I'm wanted. Besides, we'll need to leave as soon as you're back from the party tonight." Zuko said as Aang sighed and nodded.

"I know. We'll need to warn the Earth King of the war starting back up again." Aang said.

"I'm afraid the Earth Kingdoms are in the least danger at the moment." Zuko said as Katara and Sokka turned curiously towards him.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked worriedly.

"Before he tricked me to accepting the Agni Kai, General Azul told me what his plan is. He plans on destroying the Water Tribes first and wiping out every single Waterbender in existence. So if he succeeds and he kills you, then the Avatar Cycle will be-…" Zuko explained as Aang realized the gravity of the situation.

"The Avatar Cycle will be broken!" Aang said in horror.

"What do we do? The Southern Water Tribe can't defend itself against an army of Firebenders!" Katara said as Zuko nodded.

"I agree. But the Earth Kingdom still needs to be warned. And I know just how to warn them." Zuko said as he immediately turned to Shyu and Mai's parents.

"Fire Sage Shyu, Magistrate Tau, I need your help." Zuko said as he immediately turned and carefully sat down at the table. The other two immediately knelt before him.

"What is your command Fire Lord Zuko?" Tau asked as Zuko began writing a letter.

"I need you to take the ship you came in and go to Ba Sing Se. When you get there, be sure to give this letter to my Uncle Iroh at his Tea Shop, the Jasmine Dragon. Last I heard the Earth King frequently comes to visit his shop for tea." Zuko explained.

"He's not lying. The Earth King thinks he can just sneak in without my noticing. But hey he tips well." Toph said with a shrug.

"Then my Uncle will be able to get the message to him." Zuko said as Tau arched a concerned eyebrow.

"But what of you my liege?" Tau asked.

"Unless the Avatar says otherwise, I'm going with him." Zuko replied as he looked towards Aang.

"I'd be happy to have you with us Zuko." Aang said with a smile.

"Then we should probably be getting ready for the party." Katara said as Aang nodded in agreement.

"Mai can you and Ty Lee start getting Appa ready after we leave for the party tonight? We're going to need to leave as soon as we're done." Aang asked as Mai and Ty Lee nodded.

"I can help. I'm not totally useless." Zuko said.

"You should probably rest Zuko. You're injuries are still pretty bad and need time to heal." Katara said as Zuko sighed and nodded.

"Alright I'll stay here." Zuko said despairingly.

"Well if it's any consolation, I found this during a Spirit Quest." Aang said as he handed Zuko the Blue Spirit mask. Zuko blinked in disbelief as he saw it.

"Wha-Where did you get this?! I threw it into Lake Laogai in Ba Sing Se after I rescued Appa from the Dai Li!" Zuko exclaimed.

"Oh I have my ways." Aang said with a cheeky grin.

"I won't need it Aang. I feel that you will though. Keep it." Zuko said as he handed back the mask.

"Well okay then. Hope you get better Zuko." Aang said as he, Katara, and Sokka ran up the stairs to get ready for the party. Toph would have run after them but she had to feel her way up slowly because of the wooden floor.

* * *

**Later…**

It was sunset as Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph walked up to the entrance to the Hot Springs. They could hear music playing from on the grounds. As they approached they saw two large wooden statues on either side of the entryway. The one on the left was of Avatar Roku while the one on the right was of a tall beautiful woman wearing clothes very similar to Katara's and even with a similar hairstyle. This was Avatar Ember.

"Wait, didn't Lo and Li say that Avatar Ember was a guy?" Sokka asked as Katara arched a curious eyebrow.

"I think so. But why is there a statue of a woman Avatar Ember?" Katara asked confused.

"Because Avatar Ember was always being mistaken for her brother." On Ji said as she approached in a red two piece swimsuit.

"Hi On Ji, happy birthday." Aang/Kuzon said as he presented her a rolled up scroll with a red ribbon wrapped around it.

"Oh thanks Kuzon, you shouldn't have gotten me a gift though." On Ji said as Kuzon scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Well I didn't so much as buy it as make it. I wrote down some old Fire Nation dances that you might like." Kuzon said as On Ji quickly unrolled the scroll and her eyes lit up.

"Oh WOW! Thanks Kuzon!" On Ji exclaimed as she quickly threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Kuzon blushed a shade redder than his headband. Katara did too but not for the same reasons…she was obviously jealous.

"So uh, Kuzon, shall we go join the party?" Katara asked in an effort to remind Aang of his duty.

"Oh uh yeah! Come on let's go guys." Aang said as they walked onto the grounds. The Hot Springs were a number of small pools of water in the center of what appeared to be a large crater, with large rock walls encircling the entire area. There was a band set up in a moderately sized corner playing spirited dance music. Aang and Katara immediately spotted the tall blades of grass in front of a hole in the wall.

"Kuzon, I just realized that you're not in your swimming trunks." On Ji said as Aang blushed. He couldn't let her see his Air Nomad tattoos.

"I uh…I can't swim but I didn't want to miss the party." Aang replied.

"It's okay Kuzon." On Ji replied as Aang breathed a sigh of relief.

"You don't have to swim here. The water's shallow enough that you can just sit down and still have your neck above water." On Ji said as Aang started to mentally panic.

"Well uh…I still don't have my swimming trunks on." Aang replied.

"It's okay, just use your briefs." On Ji said as Aang looked to Katara for help.

"Uh hey Kuzon, let's go check out that cave over there." Katara said as she quickly grabbed him by the arm and they ran off towards the "Lover's Alcove."

"Does that girl realize that that's the Lover's Alcove?" On Ji asked.

"Well they are kind of an item." Sokka said as On Ji sighed.

"Oh. I see." On Ji said as she headed for one of the hot springs, leaving Sokka and Toph behind.

"So what now?" Toph asked.

"We make sure people don't try and walk in on Aang and Katara." Sokka whispered as they headed off towards the alcove themselves. However they didn't notice On Ji was watching them curiously.

"Aang? Katara?" she asked quietly to herself.

Meanwhile Aang and Katara snuck into the Lover's Alcove, relatively unnoticed except for a couple of adoring looks and knowing chuckles between a few onlookers. They were alone inside the small cave. It was lit by a few candles attached to the walls and there was a small pool of water over a small ledge.

"Okay Aang, just do what you need to do." Katara said as Aang noticed a crude etching in the rock wall that read…

"_The Spirits Know All."_

"Okay…here we go." Aang said with a deep breath as he sat down in a meditative pose and pulled out the map and the Blue Spirit mask from inside his jacket.

"What's the mask for?" Katara asked curiously.

"So my face is hidden." Aang replied.

"Okay that's a little creepy but hey at least you're protected." Katara said as Aang nodded and pulled the mask down onto his face with the map in hand. Soon his unseen tattoos and hidden eyes started to glow white as he entered the Avatar State and the Spirit World simultaneously. They were unaware of Sokka standing outside with furrowed eyebrows and his shoulders sunk down.

"He does realize we're standing out here right?" Sokka asked as Toph shrugged.

"So what if he does? What's the big deal?" Toph asked.

"Never mind." Sokka replied as he leaned against the rock wall. A couple of silent moments later, Toph looked up from her spot with a curious expression.

"Hey, Sokka, is there a guy running up that looks like a soldier or something?" Toph asked as Sokka looked up. He then saw a man in a Fire Nation military uniform run into the Hot Springs area and hand a rolled up scroll with a red ribbon tied around the ends to a distinguished looking man. The man was On Ji's father, judging by On Ji's hugging him prior to the soldier's arrival.

"Yeah and somehow I don't like the looks of this. We should probably tell those two to hurry up in there." Sokka said as Toph nodded.

"I'll tell Twinkle Toes and Sweetness to hurry up; you go see what's going on." Toph said but Sokka grabbed her arm.

"Wait, we may not have to. Looks like On Ji's old man is about to say something." Sokka said. Sure enough On Ji's father looked horrified at what the scroll read and hurried over and stopped the band.

"Everyone! Everyone PLEASE!!!" On Ji's father shouted as everyone turned to look at him with curious expressions.

"I have just received new orders! We've received word that Fire Lord Zuko has been overthrown as Fire Lord after losing to General Azul in an Agni Kai!" On Ji's father shouted. There was hushed chatter and a few people applauded in celebration before receiving cold stares from the others.

"There's more as well! Fire Lord Azul has ordered us to cease our work on the Beach Estate and for all of us to report as soon as possible so that we might all serve as military engineers!" On Ji's father added as On Ji looked heartbroken.

"Further more! Fire Lord Azul has ordered that the Air Nomad Avatar, Aang, and all those who travel with him, are now enemies of the state and are to be apprehended immediately upon sight!" On Ji's father added as the crowd continued speaking in unison. On Ji's eyes widened at the mention of Aang's name.

"Aang? It can't be." On Ji said quietly to herself as she looked towards the entrance to the Lover's Alcove where Sokka and Toph stood guard.

"I get the feeling that we should be going." Sokka said as Toph nodded in agreement.

"Good idea." Toph replied as she turned and entered the Alcove. Inside, Katara was looking at the opened map carefully. She then saw the golden ring around Ember Island disappear and reappeared around the Northern Water Tribe fortress. The map also became even more detailed with the addition of mountains and the lines representing longitude and latitude.

"We probably should hurry things up and get out of here soon guys. They just made the announcement that Zuko's been kicked out and so all the workers are bailing out of here as fast as they can." Toph said as Katara looked worried.

"We can't leave until Aang's finished doing what he needs to do." Katara said as Toph groaned.

"This really isn't a time to be waiting for him to finish being all mysterious-n-such! We've got to get out of here!" Toph yelled as Katara shushed her.

"Yeah you probably should leave." A voice from behind said. They turned and paled at the sight of On Ji standing inside with a cross look on her face. Sokka was in her grasp with his ear pinched between her fingers.

"On Ji!" Katara exclaimed.

"Um can you let go of my ear! It really HURTS!" Sokka exclaimed as On Ji let go.

"I want the truth. Is his name really Kuzon? Or is it Aang?" On Ji asked angrily as Toph dropped into an Earthbending stance.

"His name's really Kuzon." Katara replied quickly as On Ji grabbed Aang by the back of the collar and pulled the shirt back, revealing the glowing gray lines of his Air Nomad Tattoos.

"Kuzon huh? I can't believe you lied to me!" On Ji said angrily.

"We didn't mean to On Ji! We just needed to stay hidden. We knew about Azul's overthrowing Zuko already and we couldn't just waltz right in here without disguises if the people found out." Katara explained quickly.

"She's right On Ji." Aang said as he lifted the mask off his head and pulled the headband up over his forehead, revealing his arrow tattoo. He stood up and turned towards her with a remorseful expression on his face.

"We didn't want to lie to you On Ji. We just had to. Please don't be angry." Aang said as On Ji turned away.

"I can't believe it." On Ji said as Aang sighed.

"Look if you start blabbing who he is, this will wind up being your last birthday!" Toph threatened.

"Kuzon, or Aang, or whatever your name is…I'll help you and your friends get out of here and get to wherever you need to go in exchange for one thing." On Ji said as Aang gulped nervously.

"W-what is it?" Aang asked.

"I'll tell you afterwards but hurry up if you want to leave." On Ji said tersely as she and the others quickly ducked out of the alcove and hurried towards the exit to the Hot Springs.

"On Ji? Where are you going?" Her father asked.

"I'm just taking my friend Kuzon and the rest of my friends down to the beach to look at the moon on the water. I'll be back in a few minutes." On Ji said as her father smiled and nodded.

"Enjoy yourselves then." Her father said as they ran off.

* * *

**On the Beach…**

Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, Momo and Appa waited outside of Lo and Li's house, watching the boat carrying Mai's family, Fire Sage Shyu, as well as Lo and Li, sail out to the west towards Ba Sing Se. Ty Lee was sitting quietly on Appa's back and with a sad expression on her face.

"I hope they make it in time to warn the Earth King." Mai said as Zuko nodded.

"So do I." Zuko replied.

"I wonder why Ty Lee isn't her usual jumpy self right now." Mai said as she looked up at her friend with concern.

"You don't know do you?" Zuko asked as Mai looked at him curiously and shook her head.

"Know about what?" Mai asked. Before Zuko could answer however, Appa let out a grunt as he spotted Aang and the others running up the beach towards them.

"They're back." Zuko said with a sigh of relief. Then they spotted On Ji with them.

"Looks like they brought a friend too." Mai said as the group stopped in front of Appa.

"Okay, this is it On Ji." Aang said as On Ji spotted Zuko and froze in shock.

"Fire Lord Zuko, How did-?! When did-?! What are you doing here?!" On Ji asked in shock as she dropped to her knees.

"He's a friend of ours On Ji. We're helping him reclaim his throne." Aang replied as On Ji bowed humbly to the deposed Fire Lord.

"What did you want for helping us escape?" Katara asked as On Ji turned towards Aang and reached for something hidden behind her back.

"What I want from Aang is…" she said as she immediately whipped out a rolled up scroll and unrolled it, revealing it to be an old wanted poster of Aang.

"I want your autograph!" On Ji exclaimed as everyone looked at her in disbelief.

"You want WHAT?!" they asked.

"All that just for an autograph?!" Aang asked in shock.

"Uh huh, I've known you were the Avatar all along Aang. I figured it out when you were still at the school and you said the Air Nomads had no army. When the teacher implied you were there one hundred years ago, I began wondering why you wore that headband and then I saw a wanted poster of you one day and it looked familiar. I took it home and drew in hair and the headband and I realized that you and Kuzon were one and the same. I just played dumb when we met again. I was just pretending to be mad when you revealed yourself as the Avatar." On Ji explained as Toph face palmed.

"Why couldn't I tell that you were lying all this time?!" Toph asked angrily.

"I dream of being an actress one day and I starred in the new edition of "The Boy in the Iceberg" that my school put on last week. I got to play as you Katara and let me tell ya, you're pretty cool. My acting skills are probably why you didn't detect that I was lying, Toph." On Ji said as Katara blushed appreciatively.

"Aww, thanks On Ji." Katara said as Aang quickly signed his name on the wanted poster.

"That would probably explain it though. Your acting skills helped you mask whether or not you were lying." Toph said.

"You guys don't have to but I would appreciate it a lot of you guys would all sign it." On Ji said as Katara and Sokka smiled.

"Sure, we'd be happy to. Consider it our gift to you for your birthday." Katara said as On Ji blushed slightly.

"Actually you guys just being here is a gift in itself. I mean it's not every day you get to have the Avatar come to your birthday party." On Ji said as Toph reached into her dress and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper.

"Here take this; it's an old wanted poster I think. I can't read or write so this'll help." Toph said as On Ji unrolled the paper, revealing it to be one of Toph's old "Runaway" wanted posters.

"Wow, thanks Toph." On Ji said as she pocketed the poster.

"Hey Zuko, you're one of us, you want to sign it?" Aang asked as a twinkle appeared in On Ji's eyes.

"Oh would you?!" she pleaded as Zuko smiled and started signing the poster.

"Lord Zuko, I hope you take back the throne, my parents and I really like you more than they did your dad." On Ji said as Zuko smiled.

"I appreciate it, thanks. It just reminds me that there are some people who still like me." Zuko said as On Ji smiled.

"Well here you go On Ji, happy birthday." Aang said as he handed On Ji the rolled up wanted poster.

"Thanks, I think this was my best birthday ever! I'll never forget you guys." On Ji said as they started climbing onto Appa's back.

"And we won't forget you On Ji, and thanks again for helping us." Aang said as he sat down on Appa's head.

"Appa! Yip-yip!" Aang said as Appa took off into the sky and Katara started Waterbending clouds around them.

"So where are we going now?" Sokka asked.

"The map says that we have to go to the Northern Water Tribe to find the last clue." Katara said as Zuko pondered.

"But the Water Tribes are the next target." Zuko said as Aang nodded.

"I know, that's why we're going to the Southern Water Tribe first, to warn them." Aang said.

"Um can we stop at Kyoshi Island first? I think we ought to tell Suki and warn her too." Sokka said.

"Appa can't fly straight to the Southern Water Tribe with this many people on his back. Kyoshi Island was our next stop anyway." Aang replied.

"Good, then perhaps we should try and get some sleep before we get there." Sokka said as most everyone yawned in agreement.

* * *

**End Chapter 11.**


	12. Dreams

For most of the night, or so it seemed, Aang struggled to stay awake while everyone else slept peacefully behind him. However he finally gave in and fell asleep. He fortunately had enough sense to tie a rope around his waist that was attached to the saddle and two other ropes attached to Appa's horns, to keep him in place. Air Nomads would do this with their Bison's when they feared that it would be an all night trip.

Aang's eyes slowly closed and he lowered his head forward as he finally drifted off to sleep. He was then awoken by what sounded like a voice on the wind, calling his name. He opened his eyes slowly to find himself sitting in the center of the Avatar chamber in the Southern Air Temple. Sitting before Avatar Roku's statue more specifically.

"Aang." Roku's voice said from behind as Aang leapt onto his feet, startled.

"Avatar Roku!" Aang yelped as he saw his predecessor standing behind him.

"Relax Aang. I didn't mean to startle you." Roku said as Aang looked himself over. He then realized that he was back in his traditional Air Nomad clothes and his head was shaved again.

"Avatar Roku, I'm glad you're here. Can you tell me where the Dao de Mian is?" Aang asked as Roku shook his head.

"No Aang, I cannot. You must find out for yourself where it is." Roku said as Aang's heart sank.

"Then why are you here?" Aang asked confused.

"I believe it's time I told you more of the foe you will inevitably face before this journey ends." Roku said as he led Aang towards a spiraling ramp that went up towards the roof where all the statues of the previous Avatars stood.

"You mean Azul? The Demon?" Aang asked as Roku shook his head.

"No Aang, I mean Koh, the Face stealer." Roku replied as Aang looked worried.

"Koh? He can't harm me in the real world…can he?" Aang asked as Roku remained silent. They continued walking up the ramp until they reached a statue near the top. What was concerning was that the statue was headless and had Air Nomad symbols on it.

"Aang, do you know who this Avatar was?" Roku asked as Aang shook his head.

"No I don't. His head's missing." Aang replied.

"That is because this is the statue of Koh, back when he was the Avatar." Roku said as Aang's eyes widened in shock.

"WHAT?! KOH WAS AN AVATAR?!?!" Aang asked in disbelief.

"He was once the most powerful Avatar to have ever lived." Roku said as Aang blinked in horror.

"How did he get to be so evil then?!" Aang asked as Roku glanced at the statue.

"Let me tell you what I learned from the other Avatars long ago." Roku said as he placed a hand on Aang's shoulder and the scene shifted. Aang and Roku found themselves standing in front of a large map of the world, only different. Ba Sing Se was missing and many of the small islands were pieced together into small continents or attached to the larger ones.

"Over fifty two Avatars ago, and that's about two and a half thousand years ago, the four nations you know today, were drastically different. The Water Tribes were nomadic and wondered around on the seas. The Fire Nation was like the Water Tribes, maintaining small tribal centers in the volcanic lands to the west. The Earth Kingdom lived mostly in caves or in underground cities like the old catacombs that lie under Ba Sing Se. But the Air Nomads…they were like the Fire Nation of today, militaristic and war like." Roku explained as he pointed to where the Northern Air Temple sat today.

"This is where they were headquartered. At the time they were ruled by the Air King, the most powerful Air Bender in history. Then one day, a young Avatar named Baojun, came and murdered the Air King, taking control of the Air Nomads…or the Air Lords as they were known back then. Baojun led the Air Lords into a long and deadly war that sought to conquer the other three nations, where he forced the best of each bender to help him gain strength in all the other elements." Roku explained as the continents on the map started turning white until they were all a stark white.

"Baojun succeeded where Ozai would eventually fail, in conquering all three of the other nations. For fifty years he dictated over the enslaved people and any revolts were met with cruel consequences. One night in a dream, all of the previous Avatars confronted Baojun and warned him that if he did not undo all that he was doing and bring true balance to the four nations, then he would be cursed to live without the one thing he admired the most." Roku said as Aang looked at him curiously.

"What was it he admired the most?" Aang asked.

"His face. His vanity was probably greater than his own bending abilities. He outright laughed at the other Avatars and said that he would do as he pleased since there was no one who could defeat him. He was correct that no human could defeat him but there was one thing that he couldn't conquer or defeat no matter how much he tried." Roku said as Aang looked hopeful.

"What was it?" Aang asked.

"Death. He could not live forever as much as he tried to change that fact. Eventually he did die. He died in his sleep after being bitten by a hexa-pede. A rare yet deadly insect with the body of a worm and with twelve legs. Their venom is highly lethal. Upon his death, Baojun was cursed to take the form of a giant and faceless Hexa-pede where he became known simply as Koh. Over the millennia, he learned to steal the faces of others where he became known as Koh the Face stealer. He steals the faces of others in an effort to find his true face which was stolen from him. He hasn't had reason to attack other Avatars because he believed them all to be weaker than he was and thus risked no threat to his being known as the most powerful Avatar in history…that is…until you learned to Energybend." Roku said as Aang's eyes widened.

"You mean he's after me because I can Energybend?" Aang asked as Roku nodded.

"Very much so. Energybending was a power he never even knew about until you used it on Fire Lord Ozai. With such a power at your disposal, he fears that his reputation as the most powerful Avatar to have ever lived is in jeopardy and he seeks to stop you and kill you before you can master any other special bending abilities that would cause him to lose his reputation. His greed and vanity knows no bounds and he will demolish anyone who stands in the way of his remaining in power. However you know his one weakness Aang." Roku said as Aang remembered the Blue Spirit mask.

"If he can't see my face then he can't steal it or harm me." Aang said as Roku looked down at him with a serious expression.

"You are only half right Aang. He cannot steal your face or harm you, but that is only when he is in the Spirit world. If he manages to enter the real world, any inhibitions that would normally keep him from attacking you will vanish and he will do his very best to try and kill you." Roku said as Aang looked at the map with a furrowed brow.

"So he wants to keep me from stealing his reputation from him? Is that it?" Aang asked as Roku nodded.

"Yes. He is very petty. The first blow to his ego was when he died, the second was transformed into the monstrosity he is today, if he loses his reputation as well, then he will cease to exist. His entire survival rides on his being known as the most powerful Avatar in existence. You must find your people and stop him for good." Roku said as Aang pondered.

"I know how you feel about killing, Aang. But you must realize that Koh has caused more suffering than any one person you've ever encountered before. Practically every Avatar before you has encountered him and has suffered because of him in some form or another, but none so much as Avatar Kuruk. Be very careful if Koh manages to enter the real world and believe me when I say he has ways of doing so." Roku said as Aang looked worriedly at the South Pole on the map.

"You fear for the woman you love and rightfully so. But be very careful with whom you make these attachments to. Koh will focus on harming your heart's true desire plus those closest to you. That is why you must hurry so that Koh will forever be stopped." Roku said as a determined look swept Aang's face.

"Then I will do my best to stop Koh and bring my people back at the same time." Aang said as Roku smiled.

"I wish you the most luck on your quests. I pray you succeed." Roku said as Aang smiled and a bright light enveloped the room. Aang found himself back on Appa and with his head still covered in hair. He turned around and saw everyone else was still asleep. Aang looked at Katara and sighed before turning back towards the front.

* * *

**In the Fire Nation Capital…**

Azul was sound asleep in the royal bed chambers with his wife asleep at his side. She was about Azul's age and comparatively petite with long brown hair that was held together in a long braid. Azul however was tossing and turning in his sleep until he finally awoke and sat straight up, drenched in sweat. He looked down at his wife who was still sleeping. He slowly climbed out of bed and walked over to the windows in the room.

He then heard a strange skittering sound like a large bug. He then heard a strange rustling sound and turned to see a massive worm like insect with twelve legs hunched over his bed.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM THERE!!!" Azul roared as he dropped into a fighting stance. The bug then turned and revealed a pale white face with gray markings around its eyes and mouth. The face smiled at him sinisterly.

"Normally I would steal such an emotion filled face but at the moment I am feeling generous, Fire Lord Azul." Koh said oily as he approached the confused Fire Lord.

"What are you? What do you want?" Azul asked as Koh chuckled sinisterly.

"Oh we have something of a mutual goal in mind. We wish to dispose of the Avatar known as Aang. We wish to see the Avatar cycle broken." Koh said with a grin on his face as he started encircling Azul.

"And how do we do that? Even with Sozin's Comet, Fire Lord Ozai still couldn't defeat the Avatar." Azul said as Koh chuckled.

"Ah but that is where I come in. I am known as Koh, the Face stealer, perhaps you've heard of me? Anyways, I have a proposition to make to you Azul. I will give you the power to defeat and kill the Avatar but in exchange, you must make sure that the Avatar does not succeed in finding an ancient island known as the Dao de Mian. He is searching for this island even as we speak and if he finds it, then the Avatar cycle will be twice as hard to break." Koh explained as Azul pondered.

"But how will I know where he is?" Azul asked as Koh smiled sinisterly.

"You need something to motivate you to do what I command? Then I shall give you just that!" Koh growled as he turned and lurched towards Azul's bed. Azul then heard his wife let out a scream which was suddenly silenced and a slurping sound that made Azul's skin crawl was heard afterwards. Koh turned back to Azul but with his wife's face.

"You…MONSTER!!!" Azul roared as Koh cackled menacingly.

"Now you have your motivation. Obey my commands and I will restore your lovely wife's face. Oh and if you think this is just a nightmare, then you will be gravely mistaken when you awaken in the morning." Koh said before cackling like an insane lunatic.

**…**

Azul awoke with a start, again drenched in sweat. He looked over at his wife and saw that she was turned on her side, facing away from him. He sighed with relief and started to turn her over onto her back but then froze in horror as he saw her face was missing completely from her head.

"No...NO, **NO!!!**" Azul yelled angrily into the black night.

* * *

**End Chapter 12.**


	13. The Plan & Ty Lee's Secrets

It was dawn as Appa floated down towards the sandy beaches of Kyoshi Island. Almost as soon as his six feet touched the ground however, he toppled over into a deep slumber. As a result of getting tossed off the bison's back in mid-slumber, everyone awoke with a groan.

"What just happened?!" Sokka grumbled as he cracked opened a tired eye.

"Appa fell asleep. Poor thing must be exhausted from the long flight here from Ember Island." Katara said with a yawn.

"He deserves the rest. He's carried us all this far." Zuko said as he dusted himself off.

"So where are we?" Mai asked.

"Looks like Kyoshi Island." Katara said.

"Um could someone get me down from here?" Aang asked, pointing to the ropes still keeping him in place on Appa's now sideways head. In a flash, Mai had hurled a small fist full of knives and cut the ropes without hitting anyone.

"Thanks." Aang said with his face in the dirt.

"Don't mention it." Mai replied with a small smirk.

"So what's the plan Aang? We warn the Kyoshi villagers and then head for the South Pole?" Zuko asked as Aang dusted himself off.

"Well Sokka wants to find Suki and we do need to warn the villagers. They can probably get to Ba Sing Sei or Omashu where they'll be safe. But getting them off the island is the hard part." Aang said.

"How is that hard?" Mai asked.

"They're a proud people. They're not going to leave for anything." Sokka answered.

"That and there's a giant man eating, ship sinking, monster out there in the waters around the island." Katara added.

"Oh yeah, there's that." Sokka said as Zuko blinked.

"Oh that thing!" Zuko exclaimed as he flashed back to the time when he first visited Kyoshi Island in pursuit of Aang and encountered the Unagi.

"So how do we go about dealing with this deadly sea monster?" Toph asked.

"Well the first thing we need to do is find Suki and try to get her to come with us. We should probably try to bring a boat or something so that Appa doesn't have to carry us all." Sokka said.

"Good idea. Appa has a hard time flying with all of us on his back anyway." Aang said as Appa rolled back onto his feet and the group started walking towards the village. As soon as they arrived the people spotted Aang and promptly went crazy, the one guy frothing at the mouth as usual.

"Does he always get this kind of greeting here?" Zuko asked as Sokka shrugged.

"He's the Avatar and the island is named after one of his predecessors…so yeah he's special." Sokka explained. Almost immediately the painted faces of the warrior maidens appeared amidst the crowd with Suki at the front.

"Sokka! You're back!" Suki exclaimed as she gave Sokka a kiss on the cheek, causing the latter to turn a deep shade of red and practically melt.

"Hi Suki, we're back." Aang said as Suki turned towards the group and recognized the two additional members of the gang.

"Wow I didn't realize you could convince the Fire Lord to join you to help look for your people Aang. Good to see you again Zuko." Suki said as a disheartened look swept Zuko's face.

"If only the situation were different." Zuko said as a worried look appeared on Suki's face.

"What do you mean?" Suki asked.

"I'm not going to lie to you Suki, it's bad." Aang said.

"Someone else kicked Zuko off the throne in the Fire Nation and now is preparing to go to war again." Sokka explained.

"And he's said that he's going after the Water Tribes first." Katara added.

"Oh no. Not the war again! But wait, shouldn't you be heading to the South Pole instead of staying here?" Suki asked.

"Appa can't fly very far with all of us on him so we had to make a stop for him to rest. Kyoshi Island was close enough that we could fly here and use it as a place for him to rest before heading to the South Pole." Aang explained, pointing to the now slumbering Bison behind them.

"We'll find a place for him to sleep with plenty of shade and lot's to eat. But in the meantime let's go speak with the chief about what you just said. He's going to want to know." Suki said as they started heading towards the chief's house.

**…**

"These are dire times indeed Avatar. We all get a breath of freedom and then we get word of this…catastrophe." Chief Oyaji said with a worried look.

"It's all my fault. If I was a better Firebender, I would have been able to beat him at the Agni Kai." Zuko said as Aang put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault Zuko. Don't blame yourself. You said yourself that Azul tricked you into the Agni Kai." Aang said, receiving a subdued look from the deposed Fire Lord.

"Then it's my fault because I was so easily fooled. One way or another it's my fault Aang. There's no denying that." Zuko said.

"Come on Zuko, you know Aang didn't mean that. None of us did." Katara said as Zuko shook his head.

"I know he didn't but I know it's still my fault, no matter how you look at it." Zuko said as Aang turned towards Chief Oyaji

"We still need to find a way to stop the Unagi from attacking your people's ships. Does anyone have any ideas?" Aang asked.

"We could try to trap it." Toph suggested.

"Or catch it." Sokka suggested.

"You can't do that. The Unagi protects our waters from pirates and raiders. We have everything we need here so we have no need to leave the island. We have a submarine that the mechanist left us that doesn't require Waterbending to use but the Unagi could just sink it too." Suki said as Oyaji nodded.

"You see, Avatar, we cannot and will not leave this island. It is our home and we would rather die while defending it than leave." Oyaji explained.

"I understand and respect that, so we'll just let Appa rest for a while before we leave." Aang said as Ty Lee finally spoke up.

"You'll make better time with one less person on his back. I'll stay behind." Ty Lee said, earning a surprised look from everyone present.

"I thought you wanted to help?" Mai asked.

"I do but I don't see what help I would be weighing Appa down. You're all probably better off without me anyway." Ty Lee said as she got up and walked out the door.

"Is there something wrong with her? She's been different since Ember Island." Katara said as Zuko took a deep breath.

"With her, it's a complicated situation." Zuko said.

"Like what?" Toph asked.

"I'd rather not say. It wouldn't be fair for me to say anything without her permission. It's a personal thing." Zuko said.

"I suppose I better stick around then. You'll make better time without me too." Mai said. Zuko was about to argue but Mai spoke first.

"I'm not changing my mind Zuko, I'm staying to try and see what's wrong with Ty Lee. Besides what use will I be in the South Pole? I'm not a bender of any sort so I'd just be a dead weight. But don't forget to come back and pick me up. I want to be there when you take back your throne Zuko." Mai said as Zuko gave her a smile.

"I guess I better stay too. You can come pick Ty Lee, Mai, and I up on your way North." Suki said as Sokka groaned slightly.

"Oh come on, you too?" he asked.

"What's the matter? I can help the warrior maidens prepare and we can all head north together on the Water Tribe boats. All we need to do though is find a way to distract the Unagi." Suki said.

"If only we had a boat that wasn't made of wood. Like a Fire Nation ship." Aang said, causing Katara's eyes to suddenly brighten.

"Aang! That's it!" Katara exclaimed.

"What's it?" Aang asked confused.

"We need one of the Fire Nation ships with the metal hulls to keep the Unagi from sinking it. I'm thinking we could try and hijack one like we did last time to sneak into the Fire Nation before the Day of Black Sun." Katara said as Zuko tapped his chin.

"I don't know the patrol routes of the ships anymore. I recalled them all soon after I became Fire Lord. He'll probably be preparing his ships to attack the Water Tribes and so won't be sending any single ships out to patrol. Trying to hijack even one will be difficult." Zuko said as Katara looked crestfallen.

"Too bad that one near the Southern Water Tribe village is on that ice bank. Then we could use it instead." Sokka said as Katara and Aang looked at each other for a moment before their faces brightened and looked towards Sokka.

"Sokka you're a genius!" Katara said, earning a confused look from her brother.

"I know that but how am I a genius?" Sokka asked.

"We can use the old Fire Nation ship in the ice back home and use it to slip into Kyoshi bay, as well as transport all the Southern Water Tribe people to the North Pole. I'll bet we can even use it to sneak past any Fire Nation patrol ships too." Katara explained.

"But how will you get it out of the ice? Sokka just said it was on an ice bank." Toph said as Katara smiled.

"Hello, Waterbender here. With Aang's help and perhaps the help of Master Pakku, we can break the ice around the ship's hull, allowing it to float freely in the water. Then Aang can fire up the boilers and keep it powered while we load the people and head north. It'll also keep Appa free to relax." Katara said as Sokka looked doubtful.

"Hate to break it to ya Katara but just breaking the ice will more likely break the ship and make it sink. Cold metal is much more fragile than normal and could shatter." Sokka said as Zuko nodded.

"He's right. If that ship sinks, your best chance of getting your people to the North Pole goes down with it. I should probably come along then." Zuko said.

"No offence Zuko, but why you?" Aang asked.

"Because you're going to need someone who can melt the ice around the hull or at least keep the hull warm enough so that when you're breaking the ice, the hull doesn't break with it. That and I'm the only Firebender here besides you Aang." Zuko explained.

"He's got a point. And with my Metalbending, I can make extra sure that the hull is in good condition." Toph said.

"So I guess it's Katara, Toph, Zuko, Sokka, and I heading to the South Pole." Aang said before Momo hopped onto his head, chittering at him. Aang smiled and patted his head.

"Don't worry Momo, you're coming too." Aang said as the Lemur calmed down.

"So when do we leave?" Sokka asked.

"We'll let Appa rest up first. Hopefully he'll be ready to go by this afternoon." Aang said.

"So in the meantime I can pack whatever stuff I'll need for the trip." Sokka said as they all stood up.

"I'll pass the word of your offer to transport anyone who wants to leave to the rest of the villagers. At least those who want to leave will have the opportunity to do so." Oyaji said as they all headed for the door.

"I'm going to try and find Ty Lee. Do you know where her house is?" Mai asked as Suki nodded.

"Hang on, is this something we should all know about? Ty Lee is our friend and we should at least be there for support." Katara said as Zuko nodded silently before they all headed for Ty Lee's house.

**…**

In her somewhat small house, Ty Lee sat alone; her knees held up to her chest as tears drifted down her cheeks. She then heard a ginger knock at the door.

"Go away." She said shakily.

"We're not going to leave you alone Ty Lee. We're your friends. We want to help." Katara said as Ty Lee looked over her shoulder to see the gang standing behind her, both inside and outside the doorway.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ty Lee said as the tears streamed a little faster.

"Ty Lee you're not the only one who knows about your problem. We all want to help but you need to let us know about your problem." Zuko said as Ty Lee gave him an angry glare.

"Then you tell them Zuko! Go ahead and blab to the whole world about why I don't want to go on this adventure! What it will mean to me if the Avatar succeeds!" Ty Lee said angrily through the tears.

"I won't betray your trust Ty Lee. It's not my place to tell your secrets." Zuko replied as Mai entered and sat next to her childhood friend.

"Will you tell me?" Mai asked the sobbing girl.

"No! It's none of your business!" Ty Lee cried.

"But we're friends Ty Lee, we care about each other. Let us help you." Mai said Ty Lee finally leapt up, pushing Mai onto her back in the process.

"BECAUSE MY DAD'S GOING TO DIE!!!" She yelled in anguish, stunning everyone but Zuko.

"There are you happy now?! I said it! My father is going to die soon!" Ty Lee cried as she dropped to her knees.

"What?! How?! Why is he dying? Is he sick?" Katara asked as Ty Lee shook her head as she looked at the floor.

"No. He's not sick. He's not dying from an illness or injury. He's dying because he's going to be killed…and by either Aang or Zuko too." Ty Lee explained tearfully.

"What?! I'm not going to kill him! I'd never kill anyone!" Aang said as Zuko sighed.

"Yeah and what reason would he or Zuko have to kill him?" Katara asked.

"Because her father is General Azul. The one who overthrew me and took my crown." Zuko explained as everyone looked at him in shock then at Ty Lee with the same expression.

"It's why I kept him on as one of my Generals, as a favor to Ty Lee." Zuko added.

"So…when you say he's going to die, you mean Zuko's going to have to kill him to retake the Fire Nation throne? I thought he just had to lose an Agni Kai." Sokka said as Zuko shrugged.

"I do only have to defeat him in an Agni Kai, but unless Aang can Energybend his power away from him then I see no other way to stop him. If he loses his power to Firebend, he loses his right to rule and since he has no male heirs, then his oldest daughter becomes Fire Lord." Zuko said somberly.

"It's not just the fact that my dad's going to die. It means that I'm technically one of the Fire Nation Princesses now. The oldest one of seven." Ty Lee said as Mai suddenly realized what Ty Lee was feeling.

"You're afraid you'll end up like Azula. You're afraid that you're going to become a monster just because you're the princess." Mai said as Ty Lee sniffled.

"Azula was insane. Just because you have the title of princess attached to your name doesn't mean that you're instantly insane or evil. You're still Ty Lee, our friend." Zuko said as Ty Lee looked up at him and then slowly scanned over the others, noticing the reassuring smiles from each of them.

"I don't understand why I'm so upset. My father and I never got along very well. I had to share what attention he gave me with six other identical sisters. And when he did give us attention he always treated us like a matched set. We dressed alike when he was home, stayed together, played together…he never really cared for us…at least not that I could tell. He only cared about how we could further his career." Ty Lee said softly.

"He's your father, despite the way he treated you and your sisters, you still love him for at least being your father." Katara said.

"And you've fought for his attention for so long that the thought of losing it permanently frightens you." Mai added as a determined look suddenly swept Ty Lee's face.

"He did come to the circus once or twice. He thinks I never noticed him. But I've changed now. Even if he is the Fire Lord, if he is going to try and kill one of my friends and start a war that was already over, then I'm going to do my best to try and stop him." Ty Lee said as she stood up.

"We'll try not to kill him Ty Lee. I promise." Aang said as he gave her a humble bow.

"Same here." Zuko said as he too bowed. Ty Lee was now smiling as the tears still slowly ran down her face.

"Can we skip the sappy stuff now?" Toph asked. Right on cue, Sokka's stomach growled.

"Um, Suki?" Sokka asked as Suki gave a playful smirk.

"Come on Sokka let's get you guys some breakfast." Suki said as they walked off.

"Come on, let's all go eat something." Zuko said as he and Mai helped Ty Lee onto her feet.

"Thanks guys. I just hope we win this." Ty Lee said as Mai snickered.

"I just hope we don't wind up in prison like last time." Mai joked as they all headed out into the street towards Suki and Sokka's house.

* * *

**End Chapter 13.**

I had intended Azul to be Ty Lee's father the whole time. But you were surprised weren't you?


	14. 6 Princesses & The South Pole

In the Fire Nation capital, six young women in identical red dresses walked quietly in two single file lines towards the throne room. As they entered they divided into a single file row, facing the throne and the burning barrier of blue flames between them and the silhouette of Fire Lord Azul.

"Ah, my daughters." Azul said with a smile as the girls reached the foot of the platform and bowed down on their hands and knees.

"_We came at your order, father."_ The girls said in unison. Upon closer inspection you could tell that they all looked exactly like Ty Lee...and that's because they were her identical twin sisters.

"I have called upon you for a special task." Azul said as he extinguished the flaming barrier and walked down to before the six girls.

"_What is your command father?"_ the girls asked in unison.

"The task I have given you is to find out where my predecessor, the former Fire Lord Zuko is hiding. I suspect he might be traveling with the Avatar so use caution. Should you find Zuko, and if you have the opportunity, you are to deal with him…permanently…Doubly so if you find the Avatar and are able to exterminate him." Azul said.

"_We will do as you command father."_ The girls replied in unison, bowing as they spoke.

"You are the most coordinated team of warrior maidens in the Fire Nation, as well as more than adequately skilled, even Zuko and Ozai recognized that. That is why you six are the most qualified to find Zuko and the Avatar. Lu See, your Firebending and leadership skills are practically unmatched." Azul said as the first of the girls raised her hands, and flames with light blue tips appeared in her hands.

"Ta Kee, your mastery of the shuriken-jutzu is unrivaled." Azul said as the second rolled up her sleeves, revealing a series of unique gauntlets on her arms, each lined with stiletto knives like Mai.

"Ma Nee, your aim with the bow and arrow is always true. Your time with the Yu Yan Archers has served you well." Azul said as the third immediately produced a bow and arrow, knocking the arrow into the bow, turning and firing it at a small metal ring a servant was holding in his hand and pinning the arrow into the wall on the opposite side of the room by the door. The servant promptly fainted from the experience.

"Ju Lee, your mastery of the sword is nearly unparalleled. Only Piandao himself could hope to beat you." Azul said as the fourth girl drew a Jian sword and held it ready to fight.

"Nan Cee, your tracking abilities, coupled with your mastery of the Earth Kingdom's Tessenjutsu makes it impossible for anyone to escape you, even when you find them." Azul said as the fifth girl pulled a pair of red metal fans, similar to the ones of the Kyoshi Warriors, and stood in a fighting stance. (See A/N for Tessenjutsu)

"And finally Rea Dee, your skills of infiltration and assassination has served me well over the years. I trust you will be ready to do what is necessary." Azul said as the sixth girl pulled out a dagger with a blade that was wavy like a slithering snake, holding the blade in a reversed grip.

"Ty Lee might not be with you to guide you all as she did years ago as the firstborn, but you will still be able to accomplish your objective without fail." Azul said as the girls put away their weapons and bowed humbly to their father.

"_We shall keep you strong, father."_ They said in unison.

"I hope to see that you do. I'll leave the six of you to begin your search on your own. You will have a fully crewed airship at your disposal." Azul said as he turned towards his throne and started walking towards it. The six girls promptly turned and headed for the door. As soon as they were out of the palace they broke into a scattered formation.

"I can't believe dad's sending us after Zuko. Ugh that guy ticks me off!" Lu See groaned.

"Who, dad or Zuko?" Ju Lee asked.

"Zuko obviously. She was always jealous how Ty Lee got to hang out with Princess Azula and Prince Zuko all the time." Ta Kee said.

"Well now we're the princesses and we get to choose who we hang out with." Nan Cee said.

"Not if dad's got us running off to go after Zuko and the Avatar. We'll have no time for hanging out." Rea Dee said as the girls sighed in unison.

"_True."_ They said.

"Hey was it just me or was dad actually smiling when he saw us?" Lu See asked.

"He actually seemed relieved to see us…I wonder why." Rea Dee said as she pondered.

"I dunno. Maybe his ecstasy from finally becoming Fire Lord hasn't worn off yet." Nan Cee said with a shrug.

"Lucky Ty Lee got to escape this. I wonder where she is now." Ma Nee said as the others shrugged.

"Who knows? She never writes. And last I heard, Princess Azula had ordered her locked away but Zuko ordered her freedom after becoming Fire Lord. I lost her trail after she went to prison though." Nan Cee said.

"Wow, the tracker lost her own sister? That's a shocker." Ju Lee snickered, earning a dark glare from Nan Cee.

"You couldn't find your way out of a bag!" Nan Cee argued.

"Oh yeah?! Well you couldn't fight your way out of a bag!" Ju Lee yelled, both of them with their weapons in hand and ready to strike. However a fireball from Lu See stopped them.

"That's enough. Save your energy for our mission. Father's sent us on a quest of high importance. We cannot waste our time squabbling amongst ourselves!" Lu See said as the two reluctantly backed off.

"Can we go now?" Ma Nee asked somewhat impatiently as they headed for the airship bay.

**…**

Soon the airship was airborne with the six assassin sisters aboard. On the bridge, said sisters were standing in clothing that best reflected their individual roles. Lu See & Ju Lee were both wearing Fire Nation armor similar to Azula's only Ju Lee had her Jian sword in its sheath to her left side. Ta Kee wore clothing similar to Mai's, still with the gauntlets and bracelets lined with daggers and knives attached to her arms yet hidden under her sleeves. Ma Nee wore attire similar to the Yu Yan Archers except without the face paint. Nan Cee wore more masculine clothing compared to the others. Her clothing was a sleeveless dark red vest over a red shirt. She wore a pair of rugged red pants without shoes. Rea Dee's attire was simple; a dark red cloak and hood over a light and tight fitting red shirt and pants. Like Nan Cee, she wore no shoes but you couldn't tell due to the length of the robes.

"So where do we go first, sister?" Nan Cee asked as Lu See looked to the tracker and nodded.

"The most obvious place to look would be Ba Sing Sei. The city is where Zuko's uncle Iroh lives currently and he might know the whereabouts of his nephew." Nan Cee said as she walked up to a map on the wall.

"With the Earth Kingdom assuming the war to be over, we will most likely be able to slip right in without notice." Lu See said as the airship Captain turned towards them.

"To Ba Sing Sei, miladies?" the Captain asked as Nan Cee nodded to Lu See.

"Yes. Set a course for Ba Sing Sei." Lu See said as the Captain bowed and turned towards the wheel. Ma Nee approached the front windows of the craft.

"I will be keeping watch as we travel." Ma Nee said as the Captain nodded silently.

"Yes Milady." He replied as the airship headed west for Ba Sing Sei.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and Momo were on Appa's back, flying towards the South Pole. They had all changed back into their national attire having successfully escaped the Fire Nation, though Aang kept his hair.

"You know something Zuko, this'll be the first time you've been to the South Pole and not be going after Aang." Sokka said, earning a somewhat blank stare from the Fire Lord.

"I really would rather not remember that." Zuko said as Katara nodded.

"Yeah I think the whole being chased around for the better part of a whole few months could probably be forgotten." Katara said.

"I've forgotten it already." Toph said with a smirk.

"How can you forget it that easily?! You-…weren't there. Oh why do you do that to me Toph?" Sokka asked.

"You make it too easy Sokka." Toph said as Katara giggled.

"She's right you do make it too easy for us to tease you Sokka." Katara said as Sokka slumped over.

"Hey, Zuko, something's been bothering me. Ty Lee said she has six sisters. Ever since running into her the first time, I've never seen or heard anything about her sisters. Do you know anything about them?" Aang said as Zuko shrugged.

"I know a little bit about them, but not much. You would have to talk to Mai or Ty Lee for details." Zuko replied.

"Well what do ya know?" Toph asked.

"Well, I know their names and that's about it." Zuko said.

"Oh." Toph said with a shrug.

"I know Ty Lee's the oldest by a few minutes and that her sisters are named Lu See, Ta Kee, Ma Nee, Ju Lee, Nan Cee, and Rea Dee." Zuko explained.

"Whoa someone was lay-zee in naming them! Get it?!" Sokka laughed.

(Random Cough)

"Someone's going to have an oops-ee if he doesn't work on his jokes." Toph said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you might want to know that Ty Lee doesn't appreciate jokes about her sisters. She's very protective of them and their honor." Zuko said as Sokka nodded understandingly.

"So how far is it to the South Pole?" Toph asked.

"Not far. We're making good time. By this time tomorrow the whole Southern Water Tribe will be heading north…and on a Fire Nation ship of all things." Katara said with an amused laugh.

"We're definitely making good time Katara, because there's the coastline dead ahead of us!" Aang exclaimed as everyone but Toph looked over Appa's head in anticipation. Appa circled over the village a couple times before flying in to land on the soft snow where Aang's hut used to be. Almost instantly Hakoda, Gran-Gran, and Pakku approached them as the rest of the villagers gathered around. The second Toph's feet touched the ice however she leapt back up onto Appa's saddle with a yelp.

"WOW that's cold!" She exclaimed.

"It's the South Pole, Toph. It's covered in ice." Aang said.

"Well someone could have warned me before we got here!" Toph argued as she shivered.

"Aang! Katara! Sokka! You're home!" Hakoda called as he approached with a smile on his face. He slid to a sudden halt and the smile turned to a confused expression as he saw Zuko climbing down also.

"Dad! It's so good to see you!" Katara said as she and Sokka threw their arms around the tribal chief.

"How've ya been dad?" Sokka asked.

"What's he doing here?" Gran-Gran asked with venom in her voice as she pointed at Zuko.

"Relax he's on our side now. This is Zuko, the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation. He's the one who taught Aang Firebending." Sokka explained.

"Zuko also helped Sokka, myself, and Sokka's girlfriend Suki to escape the Boiling Rock after we were captured during the invasion." Hakoda added as Zuko bowed humbly to the Water Tribe chieftain.

"If only I were here as the Fire Lord. I could provide words of reassurance for the future, but I can't." Zuko said, causing the three elder Water Tribesmen before him to look at him worriedly.

"I've had a feeling that something bad is happening in the world. What's happened Katara?" Gran-Gran asked.

"Zuko's been overthrown as Fire Lord. A General named Azul took his place and has vowed to start the war again and we know who his first targets are." Katara said as Hakoda sighed.

"Us. The Water Tribes." Hakoda said as the gang nodded somberly.

"So what do we do Hakoda?" Pakku asked as Sokka grinned.

"Actually we already have a plan to save the Southern Water Tribe." Sokka said as Aang nodded.

"You do?" Hakoda asked, somewhat prideful of his son.

"It's simple. We put all of the people on a Fire Nation ship and sail it north to the Northern Water Tribe where it's more fortified." Aang said as Hakoda and Gran-Gran looked at each other with thoughtful expressions but Pakku looked skeptical.

"And where are we going to get a Fire Nation ship?" Pakku asked.

"That's where Aang, Zuko, Katara, and our friend Toph here come in. We're going to go to the old shipwreck of that Fire Nation ship and melt the ice around it, bringing it back into the water and using it to transport the whole village north. That way we can just sneak past any Fire Nation ships that would otherwise try and stop us if we were using our Water Tribe ships." Sokka explained as Hakoda smiled.

"It could work. We'll need some time to collect enough provisions for the trip and we might need to make a few stops on our way, but it can work." Hakoda said with a determined smile.

"Kyoshi Island would need to be your first stop. Before we left, Suki said that the villagers have all started working overtime to prepare enough things for you to make the trip. Plus the Kyoshi Warriors want to join you north so they can help defend the Northern Water Tribe when the attack comes." Sokka explained.

"You really have everything thought out don't you Sokka?" Hakoda said as Sokka smiled.

"I know where I got my brains." He said proudly. Bato could be seen rolling his eyes amongst the crowd with a smile on his face as he shook his head.

"Master Pakku, we could use your help with the Fire Nation ship. Between us two Waterbenders, one Firebender, one Earthbender, and the Avatar, we should be able to get the ship free in no time." Katara said as Pakku bowed humbly with a smile on his face.

"I would be honored Katara. Though I am curious, what is the Earthbender for?" Pakku asked.

"You'll see." Toph said with a smug grin as Pakku climbed onto Appa's back.

"First time on a sky bison?" Aang asked the elder Waterbender who nodded silently.

"Sokka and I will work on packing up the village. If you need any additional manpower just let us know and we'll spare who we can." Hakoda said as the gang, sans Sokka, climbed onto Appa.

"Appa, yip-yip!" Aang called out as the sky bison flew into the air towards the shipwreck.

**…**

"Okay here's the plan. Zuko and I are going to use Firebending to warm up the hull. Toph will use her ability to Metalbend to keep the hull in one piece. Master Pakku and Katara's job is the most important. You will need to slowly make the ice break away while keeping the ship as level as you can." Aang explained.

"You know Aang, I've been thinking, maybe if we fired up the ship's boiler to help warm it up. It could make the whole heating the hull part a little easier." Toph suggested, still sitting on Appa's saddle, as Zuko and Aang exchanged glances.

"Sounds good to me." Aang said as Zuko looked at the large wreck. He then looked at the stern section.

"We might want to warm it up a little bit before we start breaking the ice. We need to make sure the propellers and rudder still work." Zuko said as Katara scratched her head.

"Can't we just check it in the water?" Katara asked.

"Even with Water Tribe boats, we need to take them out of the water to check the hull and rudder. We should take this opportunity to check the hull for any weaknesses." Pakku said as Katara nodded understandingly.

"Come on Zuko, let's go start that boiler." Aang said as he and Zuko joined Toph on Appa's saddle before the bison flew up to the ship's top deck.

**…**

A few hours later in the Water Tribe village, night had fallen as Appa returned to the village with a tired, Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, and Master Pakku.

"I haven't worked that hard in years. I feel like a young man again." Pakku said with a rejuvenated smile and stretch as he hopped off the saddle. Sokka and Hakoda emerged from one of the huts to greet the tired workers.

"So how's the ship? Is she going to work?" Sokka asked as they started heading into the hut.

"She should if we can get her free from the ice." Aang said as Toph allowed herself to be carried in Hakoda's arms into the hut.

"You mean you couldn't get it free?" Sokka asked curiously.

"We didn't try to free it yet. It was so covered with booby traps that by the time we cleared them all out and fired up the boiler to check the machinery, it was nightfall." Zuko said with a yawn as he, Aang, and Katara collapsed onto their sleeping bags.

"We'll free it tomorrow Sokka but first we need a rest." Katara said as she stretched.

"And dinner." Toph groaned as Hakoda set her down onto a fur sleeping bag. Kanna chuckled as she served the tired Earthbender some warm stew.

"For what it's worth, the whole village is proud of you all for your hard work in trying to keep us safe." Hakoda said, handing Aang, Katara, and Zuko, bowls of stew.

"We're not done yet Chief Hakoda, we've still got to get that ship free from the ice and then get you to the Northern Water Tribe fortress. But even once we do that, we still have to stop Azul." Aang said as he carefully sipped the stew from the bowl.

"So what was it your dream lead you to Aang?" Kanna asked as she sat down at the table.

"What dream?" Aang asked.

"The one that led us to the Southern Air Temple. Remember, the dream that sent you into the Avatar state?" Katara asked as Zuko looked over at the Avatar.

"I've been meaning to ask what had happened about that. You caused the Avatar statues in the Fire Nation to start glowing." Zuko said as Aang yawned.

"I'm too tired to talk Zuko. You mind if we talk in the morning?" Aang asked as Zuko sighed but nodded.

"Sure Aang. I don't mind." Zuko said as Aang downed the rest of his stew and curled up in a sleeping bag next to Katara. Soon all five members of the gang were fast asleep.

* * *

**End Chapter 14.**

I knew Ty Lee had six sisters so I figured having them play a role in the story would be worthwhile. Think of them as the pursuing force of the story like Zuko and Zhao were in Book One, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee in Book Two, and Combustion man in Book Three.

Tessenjutsu is the official name for the style of combat that the Kyoshi Warrior Maidens use with their metal fans. Shuriken-jutzu is the style used by Mai with the knives (correctly known as stilettos).

I own Lu See, Ta Kee, Ma Nee, Ju Lee, Nan Cee, and Rea Dee. Their names are pretty much jokes by the way. Tell me if you catch the jokes. I'll give you the correct answers if you review. (Hint-hint, nudge-nudge)


	15. The Ursa

In Ba Sing Sei, a group of six identical young women, each disguised in Earth Kingdom nobility garb walked silently through the streets of the upper ring. They were looking for something. Finally they came across what they were looking for…A tea shop known as the Jasmine Dragon. However there was a crowd outside the doors speaking with each other in confusion. Lu Cee arched a curious eyebrow as she and her sisters approached the doors of the shop, elbowing past the citizens in the process, to find the same note hammered onto both of the doors.

"_Dear Loyal Customers…"_ the note read, _"…I apologize for the inconvenience but matters in the Fire Nation have called me away and so with no one to run the shop in my absence, the Jasmine Dragon will be closed until my return. Again I apologize for the inconvenience."_

"_Signed, Iroh."_

"_Sharing tea with fascinating strangers is one of life's true delights – The Jasmine Dragon Slogan"_

Lu Cee glared at the note in silent annoyance before she and the other five sisters backed away from the crowd.

"So Iroh's escaped us." Ma Nee said as Nan Cee knelt down to the ground.

"He left recently but this area is so heavily traveled that it's difficult to get a good fix on his trail." Nan Cee said as Rea Dee noticed a young noble boy leaning against one of the walls outside the Jasmine Dragon. He looked somewhat glum and had his arms crossed over his chest. Rea Dee had an idea.

"Hmm…perhaps we're going about this the wrong way." She said as she approached the boy.

"Hello there, my name's Rea Dee, what's yours?" she asked cheerfully as the boy glanced up at her.

"I'm Quin. Do you know where Mister Iroh went with Toph?" the boy asked.

"I'm afraid not, but tell me more about this Toph person." Rea Dee said as the boy smiled.

"She's a blind girl from outside the city. She's cute but she's also a super powerful Earthbender. She could even take on the Dai Li if she wanted to. I even hear that she taught the Avatar how to Earthbend." Quin whispered as Rea Dee smiled.

"Really? Did she ever say where the Avatar lived or where any of his friends lived?" Rea Dee asked.

"Well I remember her saying that someone she called Captain Boomerang lives on an island called Kyoshi Island and two others she called Sweetness and Twinkle Toes live in the South Pole." Quin said as Rea Dee grinned.

"Thank you cutie. You've been a big help." Rea Dee said before giving him a peck on the cheek and walked off. Quin immediately blushed a deep red with hearts appearing in his eyes before fainting.

"What was that?" Lu Cee asked with an arched eyebrow.

"That was called a lead." Rea Dee said as they turned and started heading back towards their Airship.

* * *

**Meanwhile in the South Pole…**

Sokka awoke to the sounds of a commotion outside. He quickly climbed out of his sleeping bag and hurried outside to find ash floating down amongst the snow.

"Ash falling from the sky? That's a bad sign." Kanna said worriedly.

"But not in this case. LOOK!!!" Hakoda exclaimed, pointing towards the horizon where a single Fire Nation Ship was seen sailing towards them. On the top deck was a certain Sky Bison. Katara and Pakku were using their water bending abilities to push any large pieces of ice out of the way. Aang was flying overhead on his glider as Zuko steered the ship from the bridge, blowing the ship's large whistle a couple of times. Toph was reclining on Appa's saddle.

"They must have snuck off early this morning to free it from the ice." Bato said as Hakoda turned towards the villagers.

"Alright everyone! We all know that we need to get loaded up as fast as possible and be on our way to the North Pole before this afternoon! So let's not waste any time and get moving!" Hakoda shouted as the Fire Nation ship docked up next to the snow banks of the village. As the villagers started to break down the village tents and pack up their belongings, Hakoda and Sokka quickly hurried up to the disembarking group of benders.

"I'm impressed. I never thought we would be this ready this soon." Hakoda said with a smile.

"We figured we should try and get off as soon as possible dad." Katara said as Zuko nodded.

"There's only one problem. We don't have enough coal to keep the boiler running. Constantly Firebending the boiler isn't a smart idea so we need something to keep the flames going like coal or even wood." Zuko said as Aang scratched his chin.

"But where are we going to find wood in the South Pole?" Aang asked as Hakoda and Sokka looked at each other curiously and then turned towards the docked Water Tribe warrior ships.

"Sokka, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hakoda asked as Sokka smirked.

"I think we are." Sokka said.

**…**

An hour later, there were large piles of wood in the hold of the Fire Nation ship while the Water Tribe ships were gone, completely stripped down, plank by plank, to fire the boilers of the Fire Nation ship. Sokka was walking around on the top deck of the ship when he saw Zuko, Katara, Toph, and Aang talking in a group huddle.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Sokka asked before Toph yanked him down into the huddle.

"We're trying to come up with a name for the ship. We can't just keep calling it the Fire Nation ship can we?" Katara asked.

"What's wrong with its old name?" Sokka asked.

"It's called the Soon Ying. Soon Ying was the Fire Nation General who led the attacks on the Western and Northern Air Nomad temples." Zuko replied, earning a wide eyed glare from Sokka.

"On second thought a new name couldn't hurt. Any ideas?" Sokka asked.

"Well maybe since it's a Fire Nation ship, perhaps Zuko should come up with the name." Aang said as Zuko pondered.

"I can't think of one." He said after a moment.

"What would you name it Katara?" Aang asked as Katara instinctively touched her mother's necklace.

"I would name it after mom. Kya." Katara said as Sokka smiled warmly but then frowned.

"As much as I would want to call it that, it's not a name common to the Fire Nation, it would blow our cover." Sokka said as Katara looked crestfallen.

"He's got a point." Katara replied. Then she suddenly perked up and turned to Zuko.

"Wait a minute! Zuko!" She exclaimed.

"We want to name it the Zuko?" Toph asked confused.

"No, I meant his mother! You told me once that your mother was lost because of the war. What better way to honor her than by naming a ship that carries the people of another nation to safety after her?" Katara asked as Zuko smiled and nodded.

"It would be a great honor to her." Zuko said.

"Alright the…um what is your mother's name Zuko?" Sokka asked.

"Ursa." Zuko replied.

"Alright, the Ursa it is then." Sokka said, patting the hull as Hakoda approached.

"We're all set and we're ahead of schedule. We're ready to leave." Hakoda said as Katara and Sokka looked at each other and then looked out at the now deserted fortress that they called home.

"It's strange to see home this way." Sokka said somberly as the crew started casting off.

"We'll be back, Sokka. This isn't permanent." Katara said as she placed a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"I know but it still feels strange. To see the place where you grew up just empty and abandoned…it feels…wrong." Sokka said as Aang leaned up against the railing.

"Now you know how I feel. Whenever I see the air temples, I remember when they were full of people, full of life. Now they're all empty and abandoned." Aang said somberly as Katara turned towards him and hugged him unexpectedly.

"We will find your people Aang. I promise." She whispered into his ear.

"I better go make sure the boiler is warm." Zuko said but Hakoda blocked him.

"It's not necessary. We know how to work a Fire Nation ship. Now Sokka, you say that we need to head to Kyoshi Island first?" Hakoda asked.

"Yeah we need to pick up Suki, Zuko's girlfriend Mai, our friend Ty Lee, and the warrior maidens of Kyoshi to help in the fight." Sokka said.

"Very well then. We'll set a course." Hakoda said with a nod before leaving for the bridge.

"Guys, something just occurred to me." Toph said as she turned towards the group.

"What?" Aang asked.

"Are we relying on just a bunch of Waterbenders and soldiers to fight the Fire Nation? Because we're going to need more than that. We're going to need Earthbenders to take on these guys." Toph said.

"Just one problem Toph. The North Pole is made of snow and ice like the South Pole. We have no earth to bend up there." Sokka said as Toph crossed her arms.

"So, bring some earth in." Toph replied.

"We did during the invasion on the Day of Black Sun. We had large trucks full of rocks for the Earthbenders to throw." Katara said as Sokka pondered.

"Maybe what we need to do is find some of our old allies and see if they can help us." Sokka said.

"If my Uncle got the message I sent with Mai's family, Fire Sage Shyu, and Lo and Lee then he could potentially bring the Army of the White Lotus and there'll be at least one Earthbender with them." Zuko said as Aang nodded.

"King Bumi. But Bumi's only one guy and we're going to need more than just two Earthbenders." Aang said.

"What about Haru and his dad? And maybe even the Boulder and the Hippo." Katara said as Toph rolled her eyes.

"Oh great, why not just invite the entire Earth Rumble bunch or even the Dai Li to the fight while we're at it." Toph said sarcastically as the gang looked at each other and shrugged.

"We've got the time." Sokka shrugged.

"We could take Appa once we get to Kyoshi Island and try to recruit as many Earthbenders as we can. If we take Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee along, then we can make more stops since Appa won't be able to fly as far with us all on his back." Appa said as Katara looked at the Bison worriedly.

"Are you sure we want to put that much stress on Appa?" Katara asked. Appa proceeded to lick Aang.

"I think he's okay with it." Aang said as Toph blinked.

"Uh guys, you do know that I was kidding when I suggested we invite all the Earthbenders we know right?" Toph asked.

"We're going to need the help Toph. This fight is going to decide the fate of the world. If the Water Tribes are wiped out, then the Avatar cycle will end when I die. The whole world will need to unite and fight as one if we're going to win." Aang said.

"Looks like we've got a long journey ahead of us." Zuko said, looking out over the bow of the ship at the vast ocean before them.

"We've got a month to recruit as many people as we can. As long as we get to the Northern Water Tribe before the Fire Nation does, then we're fine." Sokka said.

"So that's it then, after we get to Kyoshi Island, we'll start heading north, visiting as many cities as we can and recruiting Earthbenders and anyone who can help to go to the North Pole and fight alongside us." Aang said as the group nodded.

"Sounds like Team Avatar rides again." Katara said with a smile.

"Only bigger and badder." Sokka said with a grin.

"And this time we have all four elements to start with. Fire, earth, water, and air." Zuko said.

"That's kinda what I meant…plus Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee." Sokka said with a shrug.

"We should try to travel as light as possible. Too much stuff will make Appa tired faster so he won't be able to fly as far." Aang said.

"I can Earthbend us the tents as long as we've got some solid earth beneath our feet." Toph said with a smirk.

"So that takes care of tents. What else can we take care of?" Katara asked.

"As long as we've got a river, my fishing rod, and Zuko or Aang here with the Firebending, we've got grilled fish!" Sokka said, mouth watering.

"And for our local vegetarian?" Katara asked in an annoyed tone as she pointed to Aang.

"I'm covered when it comes to food. Appa and I can find food easily." Aang said.

"It might even help if we ate some vegetables ourselves instead of just meat Sokka." Katara added.

"Fine." Sokka grumbled as Katara headed for the ship's hold.

"Come on, we can talk more below." Katara said as Toph and Sokka followed after her.

"You guys go on ahead; I think I'll stay up here." Aang said as he turned towards the bow of the ship.

"I'll stay with him. I've got a few things I want to ask him anyway." Zuko said as the three went on below deck, leaving Aang and Zuko alone.

"Aang, what did Katara mean when she said that we will find your people?" Zuko asked as Aang sighed.

"A while ago, I was pulled into the Avatar State because of a vision I had. It told me to go to my old home, the Southern Air Temple. There I found a letter telling me to look for the Dao de Mian, an island where Avatar Roku hid Airbenders, Waterbenders, and Earthbenders so that if the Fire Nation went to war, the other three nations would still live. But the island is hidden away somewhere and only by following this map, and visiting the spirit nexus of each of the marked locations will we find the Dao de Mian. We're so close to finding it, all we have to do is go to the North Pole, visit the spirit nexus there and then we'll find the last clue to finding the island and my people." Aang explained, showing Zuko the map.

"So that's why you're on this quest. You had us all worried when those statues glowed, Aang. One of the Fire Sages even suggested you were dead but I warned him never to say that about you again Aang." Zuko said.

"Wow, thanks for sticking up for me Zuko." Aang said as Zuko turned to look back over the ocean.

"It's the least I could do. After all, I spent most of the time hunting you before I finally joined your side. I want to try and make up for the bad things I've done. That's why I want to retake my throne, so that I can try and preserve peace." Zuko said as Aang smiled up at the deposed Fire lord.

"You don't have to be the Fire Lord to do good Zuko. Just helping us save the world is good." Aang said as Zuko gave a small smile down at the Avatar.

"You know it's funny. I never thought I would see the day when I would wind up helping you instead of hunting you." Zuko chuckled. Aang laughed as well at the comment.

"You're more than just an ally Zuko, you're a friend. Besides if you wanted to, you could always just Firebend at me and chase me around the ship for old time's sake." Aang said with a laugh. He didn't expect to see Zuko smirk sinisterly and crack his knuckles.

**…**

A few minutes later, Aang and Zuko were grinning yet shivering in their now soaked clothes by the boiler with towels around their shoulders, receiving scolding glares from Katara. Sokka looked at them with a disbelieving look and Toph was smiling from ear to ear.

"So let me see if I have this straight. You two were playing tag on the top deck, when Zuko somehow slipped and fell overboard. Then when you, Aang, Waterbended him back on board, Zuko, you shoved Aang overboard. Please tell me that I'm wrong!" Katara pleaded. Aang simply shrugged innocently but Zuko pointed at Aang.

"It was his idea." Zuko said as Aang grinned innocently. Sokka quickly placed a hand on the Fire Lord's forehead.

"No sign of a fever so he's not sick." Sokka said as Zuko looked at him blankly.

"So you mean that you actually decided to play a game, one that doesn't have anything to do with a board or map or even bending elements?" Toph asked with what could be considered a proud smile as Zuko shrugged.

"I assumed I was part of the gang now so I thought I might as well try and fit in." Zuko said as Katara finally lost her cool.

"What were you two thinking?! Aang, come on, you're the Avatar! And Zuko, you're the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation for crying out loud! Why can't the two of you act a little bit more mature?!" Katara asked in absolute disbelief. Toph finally lost it and started laughing.

"We were just having fun Katara. You and I would fight each other all the time with Waterbending." Aang said as Katara glared death rays at him.

"That was different Aang; we were both practicing Waterbending and having fun at the same time. You and Toph would chuck rocks at each other for fun and yet you were still practicing your Earthbending." Katara said.

"Somehow I don't think you want Aang and me Firebending at each other." Zuko said as Katara's death gaze shifted to him, causing Zuko, Aang, and even Sokka to actually cower in fear of the young Waterbender.

"I can't tell what exactly Katara's doing but I'm pretty sure that I should be cowering in fear right now." Toph giggled.

"Then why aren't you cowering?" Sokka whispered fearfully.

"Because sweetness doesn't have the guts to fight me." Toph replied. Sensing a challenge as Katara spun around to face the blind Earthbender.

"You sure about that?" Katara asked as she uncorked her flask and Toph entered an Earthbending stance.

**…**

"So let me get this straight…" Hakoda said as he tapped his foot, looking down at the young Waterbender, conveniently trapped inside a Metalbent bulkhead against the wall and a young Earthbender trapped in a large block of ice against the opposite wall, "…the two of you decided to have a bending battle on board a ship at sea?!"

Aang, Zuko, and Sokka were standing behind him with somewhat innocent smirks on each of their faces and it was going to be a long ride to Kyoshi Island.

* * *

**End Chapter 15.**

Remember that I do own Quin.


End file.
